METSU, GABRIEL

born January 1629, Leiden, Neth.buried Oct. 24, 1667, Amsterdam Metsu also spelled Metzu Dutch painter of scenes of everyday life. The son of a painter of Leiden, he studied and worked there until about 1650, when he settled in Amsterdam. He began with religious subjects, but sacred art was unsuited to his temperament: he turned to the life of the marketplace and of the drawing room, which he painted with equal facility. Among his better-known works are The Music Lesson and The Artist and His Wife (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City), and The Duet (National Gallery, London).