A Shadow in the Golden Age To understand the lineage of Dutch art, one must look at the figures who provided the foundation for the giants. Jacques Metsu was one such figure, though his own name often recedes into the shadow of his son, Gabriël Metsu. Born in Bailleul, on the border of France and Belgium, Metsu was a man of dual disciplines. He was a painter, but he was also a tapestry worker and a cartoon painter. This technical background in large-scale design for textiles likely informed his approach to composition and the structural logic of his visual work. His life was marked by the m…