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Lot Essay
This previously unrecorded candle-lit scene is precisely the type of painting which brought Schalcken fame in his life-time and inspired subsequent artists, such as Joseph Wright of Derby to produce similar works experimenting with the effects of artificial light.
Schalcken first produced candle-lit paintings in the 1660s, however, on stylistic comparison with, for instance, Venus handing Cupid a Burning Torch of 1690, in the Schloss Wilhelmshhe, Kassel, the present work seems likely to date from the last fifteen years of the artist's life. In these later works, the morphology of his figures becomes less delicate, and their treatment becomes more sculptural (see, for instance, Woman shielding a Candle, of circa 1695-8; T. Beherman, Godfried Schalcken, 1988, p. 286, no. 192).
In the only other recorded treatment of this subject, signed by Schalcken, and dated by Beherman (ibid., p. 303, no. 207) to circa 1685-90, an old woman holds the mirror for the young cocquettish lady examining a pearl earring, and a young boy standing behind her presents another. The pearl had diverse symbolism but clearly, here, underlines the erotic suggestion of the encounter between the young woman and her companion.
Schalcken first produced candle-lit paintings in the 1660s, however, on stylistic comparison with, for instance, Venus handing Cupid a Burning Torch of 1690, in the Schloss Wilhelmshhe, Kassel, the present work seems likely to date from the last fifteen years of the artist's life. In these later works, the morphology of his figures becomes less delicate, and their treatment becomes more sculptural (see, for instance, Woman shielding a Candle, of circa 1695-8; T. Beherman, Godfried Schalcken, 1988, p. 286, no. 192).
In the only other recorded treatment of this subject, signed by Schalcken, and dated by Beherman (ibid., p. 303, no. 207) to circa 1685-90, an old woman holds the mirror for the young cocquettish lady examining a pearl earring, and a young boy standing behind her presents another. The pearl had diverse symbolism but clearly, here, underlines the erotic suggestion of the encounter between the young woman and her companion.