A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand to Light a Charcoal

Godfried Schalken (1643 - 1706)

Scottish National Gallery

circa 1692 - 1698

This painting is a striking example of the candlelit genre scenes for which Godfried Schalken was most famous. The work recreates the subject of a classical painting, by Antiphilos of Alexandria, described in Pliny's Natural History. Northern painters quickly adopted this motif and the subject of a boy with an ember is found in the work of a long line of Dutch painters such as Gerrit van Honthorst, Hendrick Ter Brugghen, Jan Lievens and Matthijs Stom.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 75 x 64 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £15000 ( Total: £67,000)
• ArtFunded in: 1990
• Vendor: Johnny Van Haeften

Provenance

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland; Charles, 3rd Earl of Sundrland; The Hon. John Spencer; John, 1st arl Spencer; By descent.

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