A Woman and Five Children

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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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.

The National Gallery, London

London

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

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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