Getty Museum
Sleeping Girl
Creator
Gerbrand van den EeckhoutDutch Artist · 1621–1674
All works by this person →According to Dutch biographer Arnold Houbraken, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout was both pupil and "great friend" of Rembrandt van Rijn. The son of a goldsmith, Van den Eeckhout probably studied with Rembrandt in the latter half of the 1630s. The compositional principles of Rembrandt's teacher Pieter Lastman, known for his theatrical realism and illusionism, also strongly affected him. Rembrandt may hav
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1652
- Medium
- Black chalk, on laid paper
- Culture
- Dutch
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- 3bdb1c6f-2c21-4e5c-adb3-bc0189423363
From the Getty Museum record
The artist depicts a little girl of about a year old, her head covered in a cap, as she slumbers. Using black chalk, he captures the softness of infant sleep: the child's eyes are gently closed; her lips purse in a sweet smile; and her plump hands are relaxed. The senses of softness and relaxation are heightened by the large pillow that cradles her; the deep, graceful folds of her gown; and the velvety shadows that envelop her head and back. Genre drawings of children are unusual in 17th-century Dutch art, and this one stands out for its large scale; its touching intimacy suggests the baby was probably one of the artist's family members. It could have been made as a study for a still unidentified painting, or simply to capture a gentle domestic moment.
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