Gabriël Metsu

Gabriël Metsu (Dutch: [ˈɣaːbriˌɛl ˈmɛtsy]; 1629–1667) was a Dutch painter of history paintings, still lifes, portraits, and genre works. He was "a highly eclectic artist, who did not adhere to a consistent style, technique, or one type of subject for long periods". Only 14 of his 133 works are dated.

Gabriël Metsu was the son of Jacques Metsu (c. 1588 – March 1629), a tapestry worker and painter originally from Hainault, who lived most of his days in Leiden, and Jacquemijntje Garniers (c. 1590 – 8 September 1651), the widow of a painter with three children of her own. It is not known when and where Gabriel was baptized; most likely in a Catholic hidden church but the baptismal records did not survive. Gabriel grew up on Lange Mare and his stepfather, a skipper, must have supported his education, because his mother was a poor midwife.

In 1648 Metsu was registered among the first members of the painters' guild at Leiden, but in 1650 he ceased to be subscribed. Metsu was possibly trained in Utrecht by the Catholic painters Nicolaus Knüpfer and Jan Weenix.