An Old Woman
1607 - 1656
Gerard van Honthorst was so obsessed with painting by candlelight that the Italians nicknamed him 'Gherardo delle Notti,' or 'Gerard of the Nights.' In this striking portrait, he captures a wrinkled old woman peering through a magnifying glass, her face dramatically illuminated from below by the very candle she holds. This masterful use of chiaroscuro—extreme contrasts between light and dark—makes her slightly mischievous expression pop right out of the deep shadows, showing exactly why he became the ultimate master of nighttime scenes during the Baroque period.
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