Title: An Old Woman Frying Pancakes
Date: 1660s
Medium: Black chalk on paper
Dimensions:21.5 x 18.9 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1902
Object Number: NGI.2446
DescriptionThis drawing, once attributed to Gabriel Metsu (1629-67), has been linked more recently to the lesser known Dutch artist Constantijn Verhout, who lived in the town of Gouda. Verhout executed drawings similar in style and subject-matter during the 1660s, many of which are in the Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam. His drawings are notable for their fine lines and the smooth handling of the chalk. Clothes are rendered in great detail, particularly visible in the way shaded areas create pleats with highlights curving around them.
ProvenanceDe Winter/Yver, Amsterdam, 29 November 1773, Johan van der Marck Sale, lot 8; purchased, Colnaghi's, London, 1902
Exhibition HistoryMaster European Drawings From the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983