Mahu was a versatile painted who practiced in various genres including still lifes, genre scenes and seascapes. He was not always an original painter but showed a very high level of craftsmanship in his compositions. He stressed realism in his still lifes. He also painted Flemish style still lifes more in the style of
Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder.
Genre scenes Cornelis Mahu was a skilled painter of genre scenes depicted in an interior or outside setting. He was inspired by the various subjects developed by
David Teniers the Younger,
Adriaen van Ostade and
Jan Miense Molenaer such as barn interiors, guardroom scenes and tavern interiors. These lively paintings are full of figures with exaggerated and rough features. Mahu painted a
Guardroom with the Release of St. Peter (Sold at Agraa Art on 17 October 2004), which is freely inspired by two compositions of David Teniers the Younger in the
Wallace Collection and the
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. It is possible that in line with the moralizing intent of the genre, the armour is a reference to the
vanitas motif of the transience of power and fame. The composition also includes a religious scene of the 'Release of St. Peter', which is visible through a gate in the background of the painting. This inclusion of a religious scene in a larger composition is reminiscent of the work of 16th century painters in Antwerp such as
Pieter Aertsen and
Joachim Beuckelaer who placed small religious scenes in the background of lush scenes of markets.
Marine paintings Although better known for his still lifes and genre scenes, Mahu produced a number of seascapes that show his originality. The seascapes usually depict ships on a wild sea occasionally with a harbour scene or ships in distress. His palette uses a mixture of greens and browns. Mahu's marine scenes with their heavy clouds and raging seas are similar to those of
Bonaventura Peeters, the leading representative of the "monochrome" movement in marine painting. Other marine paintings show a similarity with those of the painter
Jan Porcellis. ==References==