A Woman scraping Parsnips, with a Child standing by her

During the years 1654-59 Maes painted small-scale genre paintings showing simple domestic scenes. These employ a restricted palette dominated by browns and reds and a rich 'chiaroscuro' (Italian for light-dark, meaning the balance of light and shadow), reflecting the training Maes had with Rembrandt in Amsterdam in the years around 1650. After 1660 Maes devoted himself exclusively to portraiture.