Godefridus Schalcken

A Useless Moral Lesson

160 detail signatuur
160 achterzijde
160 ingelijst
160 voorzijde
160 voorzijde

Godefridus Schalcken
A Useless Moral Lesson

1690 Visitabile tra Sala 11

The meaning of this scene by the ‘fijnschilder’, or fine painter, Schalcken would have been immediately clear to seventeenth-century viewers. It concerns the lesson being given to the young, fashionable woman, while she almost lets the little bird escape from its cage. The bird is symbolic of her virginity. The old woman standing beside her is raising her finger in warning and cautioning her against the dangers of love. But her lesson is useless – the young virgin is hardly listening.

Dettagli tecnici
160 voorzijde

Godefridus Schalcken
A Useless Moral Lesson

1690 Visitabile tra Sala 11

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Dettagli

Informazioni generali
Godefridus Schalcken (Made 1643 - 1706 The Hague)
A Useless Moral Lesson
1690
painting
160
Sala 11
Materiale e dettagli tecnici
oil
panel
34.8 x 28.1 cm
Iscrizione
lower left: G. Schalcken.

Origine

Evert van Sypesteyn, Utrecht, until 1713; his sale, Utrecht, 11 April 1714 (Lugt 244), nos. 4-5 (450 guilders, together with inv. no. 161); Adriaan Bout, The Hague; his sale, The Hague, 11 August 1733 (Lugt 427), nos. 75-76 (for 930 guilders to Philip van Dijk for Prince William IV, together with inv. no. 161); Prince William IV, Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, 1733-1751; by inheritance to Prince William V, Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn and The Hague, 1751-1795; both paintings confiscated by the French, transferred to the Muséum central des arts/Musée Napoléon (Musée du Louvre), Paris, 1795-1815; Royal Picture Gallery, housed in the Prince William V Gallery, The Hague, 1816; transferred to the Mauritshuis, 1822; on loan to the Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem, 1952-1977 (together with inv. no. 161)