Angler

De Moor’s genre pictures partake of Leiden traditions, though not exclusively those of the fijnschilders. However, his Angler of about 1700 is virtually unique among his limited number of genre works and, indeed, among seventeenth-century Dutch genre paintings in general. In a bucolic setting, a barefoot youth reclining beside a pond or canal gazes at his fishing line whilst observed by a milkmaid - identifiable as such by her attire — and her pipe-smoking companion who lean upon a rough-hewn rail. De Moor’s relatively precise application of paint enhances the physical refinement of the protagonists who exhibit porcelain-like skin and, in the case of the fisherboy, an aquiline nose. His urchin’s tattered garments and rustic hat seem incongruous with his smooth, pure form almost as if he were an actor donning a costume for a stage production set in the country.