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Notes
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A woman and five children are crammed into a small space. It is hard to tell where they are, or what their relationships to one another are; their individual facial expressions, which all feel unconnected, seem to be the main focus. The bright colours of the children’s clothes stand out against a dark background. The strange position of the woman suggests that the artist found it difficult to fit her into the scene: the perspective looks wrong and the tablecloth may have been added to hide this error. The terracotta jug, the bowl and delicate glass are painted with meticulous attention to detail. The white tablecloth emphasises dignity, but the empty vessels convey poverty. The fact that the picture was painted on copper with bright, intense colours indicates that it was a luxury object.
Title
A Woman and Five Children
Date
1642
Medium
Oil on copper
Measurements
H 21.8 x W 29.2 cm
Accession number
NG1425
Acquisition method
Presented by Lesser Lesser, 1894
Work type
Painting
