Kitchen interior with a sleeping older woman - David Teniers II (1610-1690)

Oil on panel
Signed lower let: "D. Teniers"

We'd like to thank dr. Fred Meijer for his advice.

Dimensions: 42 x 63 cm, 57 x 78 cm (framed)

On the left side of the painting sits a slumbering woman, draped in a green cloth that serves as her makeshift blanket. Time has etched its marks upon her, she rests upon a stool, her serene energy in contrast to the conversation happening in the back of the interior. Where two men can be seen, while they are conversing.

On the left side of the painting, an array of copper ware and kitchenware create a view of domesticity. Each piece, meticulously rendered, adds to the scene’s authenticity - a wooden barrel, polished copper pots, and a bellow all echoing the daily life within the interior. There is also an hourglass, the emblem of the passage time, its sands cascading silently. Perhaps the woman will get back to her work when the sand has fully passed.

The stillness of the sleeping woman juxtaposed against the kitchen's quiet activity and the animated storytelling near the hearth creates a harmonious balance—a testament to the artist's ability to infuse the everyday with a touch of timeless elegance. Above all, it is the details of the still life that confirms the quality of this panel.

David Teniers II was from an Antwerp family of artists. He was a versatile artist, specializing in a wide range of genres, such as history painting, genre painting, landscape painting, portraiture and still life.