Slapende vrouw

About this artwork

Deze prent is de pendant van Hollstein nr. 45, door dezelfde prentmaker.

Art Historical Context

"Slapende vrouw" (Sleeping Woman) is a delicate print on paper created by the Dutch engraver and publisher Gerard Valck between 1662 and 1726. Measuring 350 by 253 millimeters, the work exemplifies the refined printmaking traditions of the late Dutch Golden Age, when artists produced affordable yet sophisticated images for an expanding audience of collectors. Valck, active in Amsterdam, was renowned for his technical skill in translating paintings and drawings into detailed prints that circulated widely across Europe. This sheet forms a deliberate pair, or pendant, with another print catalogued as Hollstein no. 45 by the same maker. Such pairings were popular in the period, allowing viewers to compare complementary themes—often contrasting moods, times of day, or moral ideas—when hung side by side. The simple title suggests an intimate genre scene, inviting quiet contemplation of rest and vulnerability. Valck’s prints like this one played an important role in disseminating Dutch artistic imagery beyond the elite circles that could afford original paintings, making refined domestic subjects accessible to a broader public.

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...