Slapende vrouw

About this artwork

Een vrouw, met een naaiwerkje op schoot, zit in een stoel bij de schouw te slapen. Op de tafel naast haar brandt een kaars.

Art Historical Context

"Slapende vrouw"Sleeping Woman), a delicate drawing on paper by Dutch artist Gerard Valck (1662–1726), captures an intimate moment of repose in a dimly lit interior. Measuring 350 mm high by 253 mm wide, the work depicts a woman dozing in a chair by the fireplace, her sewing project resting untouched on her lap. A candle flickers on the nearby table casting a soft glow that highlights the quiet domesticity of the scene. Created during the waning years of the Dutch Golden Age Valck's drawing reflects the era's fascination with everyday life and genre scenes, popularized by masters like Vermeer...

About the Artist

Gerard Valck · 1652–1726

Gerard Valck (1652–1726) was a Dutch engraver, publisher, and cartographer whose career bridged the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age and the 18th-century Enlightenment. Born on September 30, 1652, in Amsterdam to a silversmith father, and dying on October 21, 1726, Valck played a crucial role in introducing and developing mezzotint printmaking in England while also establishing a significant publishi...