Dirck Hals
, Dutch, 1591-1656
Title
A Woman Sewing by CandlelightDate1633
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.