Jacob Ochtervelt, 'A Young Lady Trimming her Fingernails', probably 1670-5
About the work
Overview
An elegantly dressed young woman is in the act of grooming herself – we see her cutting her fingernails with a pair of scissors. A maidservant brings a silver ewer and dish for washing hands, while the big basin in the left foreground probably serves to wash her feet and other parts of her body.
The scene takes place in a richly decorated interior. The table on the right is covered with a costly Turkish carpet, on which a mirror, a jewellery box and a string of pearls are placed. A large tapestry hanging on the back wall shows a narrative scene, but it can't be identified with certainty.
The silver ewer and basin appear in a number of boudoir scenes by Ochtervelt that can be dated to the early 1670s. These were probably painted shortly before or after the artist had moved from his native city of Rotterdam to Amsterdam.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Young Lady trimming her Fingernails, attended by a Maidservant
- Artist
- Jacob Ochtervelt
- Artist dates
- 1634 - 1682
- Date made
- probably 1670-5
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 74.6 × 59 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2553
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2015The invention of privacyMusée Marmottan Monet12 February 2015 - 5 July 2015
Bibliography
-
1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
-
1982C. Thompson, Look Alike: Themes and Variations in Art (exh. cat. Scottish National Gallery, 24 July - 24 October 1982), Edinburgh 1982
-
1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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