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Dirck Hals , Dutch, 1591-1656

Title

A Woman Sewing by Candlelight

Date1633

MediumOil on panel

Dimensions

28 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1897

Object numberNGI.468

Label TextIn a room lit by an oil lamp, a woman is occupied with needlework. She is accompanied by her two children, who are seated next to an open fire. She holds the fabric in the light in order to see the progress she has made. Dirck Hals was Frans Hals’s younger brother. Although most of his paintings depict merry companies in- and outdoors, he also painted several women engaged in domestic tasks. This painting is part of a set of two companion pieces. Its pendant, previously part of a French private collection, represents a woman tending to her child’s hair.