Zich vlooiende vrouw

About this artwork

Bij het licht van een olielamp zoekt een jonge vrouw in haar kleding naar vlooien. Ze zit bij een schouw die gedecoreerd is met tegeltjes.

Art Historical Context

This intriguing print by Dutch artist Gerard Valck captures a candid moment of daily life in the late seventeenth century. Titled *Zich vlooiende vrouw* (Woman Delousing Herself), the work shows a young woman seated beside a tiled fireplace, intently searching her clothing for fleas by the soft glow of an oil lamp. Rendered on paper in a modest format measuring 345 by 250 millimeters, the scene reflects the Dutch fascination with ordinary domestic activities during the Golden Age. Valck, active as an engraver and publisher between 1662 and 1726, specialized in detailed reproductive prints tha...

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...