Girl with a Candle
Follower of Godefridus Schalcken(Made 1643 – 1706 The Hague)

after 1727
oil on panel
36.83 x 29.84 cm
signed (erroneously) in red paint, lower rightcorner: “G. Schalcken.”
GS-101© 2024 The Leiden Collection

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How to cite
Jansen, Guido. “Girl with a Candle” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rd ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
and Lara Yeager-Crasselt. New York, 2020–23. https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/ (archived December 2023).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by apermanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs.

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Godefridus Schalcken received his first artistic instruction in Dordrecht in the studioComparative Figuresof his fellow townsman Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627–78) beginning around 1656.
This period of training certainly ended no later than May 1662, when Van
Hoogstraten left for London.[1] To complete his training, Schalcken then went to
Leiden to study with Gerrit Dou (1613–75), where he probably remained until about
1664. Although no documents shed light on any of these movements, Schalcken did
make a portrait etching of Dou with a text identifying the sitter as his revered teacher:
Honoris ergo / Praeceptorum Su’um delineavit / G. Schalcken (fig 1).[2] From 1672
onward Schalcken is frequently documented in the archives of Dordrecht, where hehad probably returned by the mid-1660s.[3]During his apprenticeship to Dou, Schalcken learned, among other things, the art ofpainting nocturnal lighting effects. During these years Dou produced a number of his
most famous works in this genre, including both versions of The Evening
School.[4] Nevertheless, daylight genre scenes—such as depictions of old womenreading, quack doctors and maidservants—dominated Dou’s oeuvre, and, similarly,

Fig 1. Godefridus Schalcken, Portraitof Gerrit Dou Wearing a Beret; Bust,
Full-Face to Left, Holding a Roll ofPaper, ca. 1665–70, etching, 16.5 x12.1 cm, The Leiden Collection, New
York, GS-130

Schalcken produced mainly small daylight genre scenes and only occasionally painted
subjects with artificial illumination.[5]Schalcken did not begin to paint many nocturnal scenes until the late 1670s.[6] In fact,
only after 1685 did the percentage of his work devoted to artificially lit scenes growsignificantly, although night scenes were never so numerous as to represent the bulkof his oeuvre. The reason for Schalcken’s growing interest in candlelit scenes wasprobably Dou’s death in February 1675, which meant that Schalcken was the only
master able to meet the demand for top-quality depictions in this specific genre. In
the 1690s Schalcken displayed his mastery of this specialty in a series of candlelit selfportraits, and these technical tours de force made him famous in his lifetime.
Compositionally, Girl with a Candle would seem to belong to the second and sociallymost successful part of Schalcken’s 40-year career. Much as with his self-portraits,
the young woman in this painting holds a candle in her right hand as she turns to lookat the viewer. Her long curly hair is tied at the back with a blue ribbon and falls inwaves over her right shoulder. The large pearl drop dangling on her forehead isfastened to a shorter blue ribbon, and she wears a string of pearls that is visible
beneath the large red-orange shawl draped over her left shoulder. Nevertheless, thepictorial quality of the Leiden Collection panel is not at Schalcken’s level. The
woman’s face lacks plasticity, and the fingers are rather stiffly executed. Moreover,her clothing is painted with little tonal differentiation, and the painting lacks local
color: within the overall orange-red glow of the image, only the blue ribbons in her
hair provide color accents.
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Dendrochronological analysis of the panel provides reinforcing evidence that
Schalcken did not execute this work: the tree from which the panel was hewn was
felled around 1727, some 18 years after the artist’s death.[7] The fact that paintings
bearing Schalcken’s signature were made after his death is not unexpected.
Schalcken’s widow, Françoisia van Diemen (29 August 1661–22 January 1744), who
survived her husband by more than 30 years, inherited the paintings left in
Schalcken’s workshop. She continued to sell paintings for many years, as documented
by the sale of a painting in 1733 to Johan Nicolaas (van) Hafften, the agent of theduke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. A municipal assessment of The Hague in 1742
indicates that “Francisca van Diemen, Wid(ow) Schalke, rentenierster” had 3,000
guilders worth of income that year.[8] It is probable that she supplemented her income
from interest and obligations, and from selling Schalcken’s autograph paintings, bycommissioning copies of some of the works in her possession. These were likely
executed by students of her late husband who resided in The Hague around 1730,
among them her nephew Jacob Schalcken (ca. 1682–1733), Godefridus Callenfels(1683–1748), and Antonie de Waardt (1689–1751).[9]Girl with a Candle is known in three other versions on three different supports. Oneof these, which was in the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin before the Second World
War, was likewise painted on panel.[10] A version on copper, which was sold by the
Kunsthalle in Hamburg after the First World War, was last recorded with a Londonart dealer in 1938.[11] Finally, a version on canvas was last documented in the earlytwentieth century.[12] Copper was the most expensive of these supports, and it isprobable that the version on copper, formerly in Hamburg, was Schalcken’s autographpainting.

- Guido Jansen, 2017

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Endnotes
1. Van Hoogstraten was active in London until the end of 1667.
2. The print is in Friedrich Wilhelm Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts ca.
1450–1700, 72 vols. (Amsterdam, 1949–2010), 24: 154, no. 4 with illustration. The engraver George
Vertue (1684–1756) noted the inscription on the print when he saw an impression in the Wardrobe of
the Princess Dowager (Catherine of Aragon) in Baynard’s Castle, London, which he visited some time
between 1731 and 1736; George Vertue, “Vertue Note Books volume IV” Walpole Society 24(1935–36): 60. We also know a portrait drawing of Gerrit Dou by Schalcken, which is recorded in the
famous collection of artists’ portraits and self-portraits that belonged to the Leiden burgomaster Johanvan der Marck (ca. 1694–1770) and was sold at auction on 29 November 1773 in Amsterdam. Lot 1829
is described as follows: “[The Portrait] of Gerard Dou, by G. Schalcken, drawn with the pen and black
chalk, height 7½ width 6 thumbs [approx. 19 x 15.5 cm]” ([Het Portrait] van Gerard Douw, door G.
Schalken: met de Pen en zwart Kryt getekent, h. 7½ b. 6 duim). RKD (Rijksbureau voor
Kunsthistorische Documentatie/Netherlands Institute for Art History) Databases, Excerpts, HdG-fiche
1485240. The dimensions suggest that this was a preparatory study.
3. According to Gerrardys H. Veth, “Godfried Schalcken,” Archief voor Nederlandsche kunstgeschiedenis,
ed. FD.O. Obreen, 7 vols. (1877–90), 6: 2, Schalcken was recorded as early as 1665 as pennant- or
standard-bearer of the seventh standard of the civic militia. Veth’s source, however, gives the year as
1675. See Matthijs Balen, Beschryvinge der stad Dordrecht, 2 vols. (Dordrecht, 1677), 1: 688. Still, thefirst mention of Schalcken in the Dordrecht archives, in 1672, refers to the civic militia. On 30
September of that year, a group of militiamen, including Schalcken, declared, among other things, thatthey “hebbende nu enige jaren herwaerts gewoont en gewaeckt onder het vaendel van de Nieuwestraet”(having lived there several years and guarded [been part of the militia company] under the banner of the
Nieuwstraat); see the protocol book of the notary Hugo van Dyck, ONA 20.274, unnumbered folio.
Schalcken’s parents lived on Nieuwstraat, so apparently he was living with them again. The declaration
reveals that by this time he had been back in Dordrecht for “several years.” The artist had, in fact,
returned to his home town even before this, since one year later, in 1673, his first recorded painting is
described in the inventory of the estate of Jacob van Neurenberg: “Een keucken met een dienstmaecht
die visch schoonmaeckt” (A kitchen with a maidservant cleaning fish). Both records can be found in theunpublished archival notes of Abraham Bredius, which are preserved in the RKD (Rijksbureau voor
Kunsthistorische Documentatie/Netherlands Institute for Art History), Schalcken file. Considering its
subject, this genre piece was probably produced between 1665 and 1670. See, for example, Thierry S.
Beherman, Godfriend Schalcken (Paris, 1988), nos. 141, 142, 143 (dated 1667), 144, and 160 (dated
1669).
4. Ronni Baer, “The Paintings of Gerrit Dou (1613–1675),” 3 vols. (Ph.D. diss., New York University,1990), nos. 81 and 110. See also Ronni Baer, Gerrit Dou, 1613–1675: Master Painter in the Age of© 2024 The Leiden Collection

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Rembrandt, ed. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery; London, Dulwich
Picture Gallery; The Hague, Mauritshuis, 2000) (Zwolle, 2000), no. 28.
5. On early genre pieces painted from 1665 to 1670, see, for example, Thierry S. Beherman, Godfried
Schalcken (Paris, 1988), nos. 141, 142, 143 (dated 1667), 144, and 160 (dated 1669).
6. It is noteworthy that none of Schalcken’s students painted scenes with artificial lighting in the 1670s. His
pupils are Maria Schalcken (ca. 1645–before 1700), the artist’s sister, who apparently studied with
Godefridus around 1665–70; Anthony Vreem (1660–81), who was presumably Schalcken’s pupil
between 1675 and 1681; and Carel de Moor the Younger (1655–1738), who, after the death of Frans
van Mieris in 1681, spent some time with Schalcken in Dordrecht before becoming a member of the
Leiden painters’ guild in 1683. There are no documented works by Simon Germain (1656–ca. 1719),
who was apprenticed to Schalcken in the 1670s.
7. Dendrochronology report by Ian Tyers of November 2012, documentation at The Leiden Collection.
8. “De ‘Rijkdom’ van ’s Gravenhage in 1742,” Algemeen Nederlandsch Familieblad 2 (1884): no. 133 (15May 1884), 5b.
9. Jacob Schalcken, the son of Godefridus’s youngest brother, Johannes (1660–1724), returned from
London in the company of Schalcken and his family in the fall of 1696, when he must already have been
his uncle’s student. We know that Callenfels was with Schalcken for four years, and, given Callenfels’sage, this must have been shortly after the master settled in The Hague. Antonie de Waardt initiallystudied with Simon van der Does until the latter moved to Antwerp. This information is derived
primarily from unpublished archival notes of Abraham Bredius, held at the RKD (Rijksbureau voor
Kunsthistorische Documentatie/Netherlands Institute for Art History), Schalcken file. New information
can also be found in the alphabetical list in Charles Dumas et al., Haagse schilders in de Gouden
Eeuw (The Hague, 1998). On De Waardt, see Abraham Bredius, Künstler-Inventare: Urkunden zur
Geschichte der holländischen Kunst des XVIten, XVIIten und XVIIIten Jahrhunderts, 7 vols. (The Hague,
1915–21), 3: 1025–30, esp. nos. 17, 80, 81, and 145. In addition to the three students mentioned above,
Arent Pijl (ca. 1680–after 1721) and a man with the last name Vincentius studied with Schalcken in The
Hague. Arent Pijl was a student of the The Hague Drawing Academy from 1696 to 1702 and will havespent those years in Schalcken’s studio, after which he finished his training with Carel de Moor inLeiden. In a notarial record of 23 April 1698, Jacobus Schalcken and Arent Pijl declared that two
paintings in the home of Pieter van der Luyt were copies after Schalcken, and were thus alreadyconsidered qualified to authenticate their master’s work; Abraham Bredius, “Een expertise van 1698”
Oud Holland 47 (1930): 157. The student Vincentius, who registered as student of the The Hague
Drawing Academy in 1702, cosigned a notarial record with Schalcken in 1704. He is likely to be thefather of Johannes Vincentius, who was active as portraitist later in the eighteenth century.
10. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), no. 195 (oil on panel, 36 x 30.8 cm; HdG no.
222). The catalogue of the museum in Schwerin compiled by Friedrich Schlie, Beschreibendes
Verzeichniss der Werke älterer Meister in der Grossherzoglichen Gemälde-Gallerie zu Schwerin (Schwerin,1882), 570, no. 937, contains a facsimile of the signature, which reveals that this was another version of© 2024 The Leiden Collection

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GS-101. The painting was part of the old holdings of the dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who had
perhaps acquired it from the painter’s widow. A bill has survived for another painting from Schalcken’s
estate that she sold in 1733 to Johan Nicolaas (van) Hafften, the agent of the duke of MecklenburgSchwerin; see my entry in Ekkehard Mai, Sander Paarlberg, and Gregor M. Weber, Vom Adel derMalerei: Holland um 1700 (Exh. cat. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum; Dordrechts, Dordrechts
Museum; Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe) (Cologne, 2006), 262, no. 74.
11. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), fig. 195a (oil on copper, 37 x 32 cm; recorded in
HdG no. 222). In 1938 the painting was with West’s Galleries in London; see West’s Galleries, Winter
Exhibition: Dutch and Flemish Portraits and Genre-Pictures of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Exh. cat.
London, West’s Galleries (London, 1938), no. 21.
12. According to the documentation, the version on canvas (Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris,
1988), fig. 195b; Cornelis Hofstede de Groot. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent
Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith, ed. and trans. Edward G.
Hawke, 8 vols. [London, 1907–28]; originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis derWerke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, 10 vols. [Esslingen and Paris,
1907–28], 5: no. 222c) was still at Wilton House in 1907; see Neville Rodwell Wilkinson, Wilton House
Pictures (London, 1907), no. 278 (47 x 37.5 cm).

Provenance[Kunstsalon Abels, Cologne].
Private collection (sale, Lempertz, 5 November 2003, no. 1137).
[Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam].
[Salomon Lilian B. V., Amsterdam, 2004].
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2004.

References
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of
the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. Edited and translated by Edward G. Hawke, 5:374, no. 222a. 8 vols. London, 1907–28. Originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches
Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols.
Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28. (Possibly).

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Versions
Versions & Copies
1. Attributed to Godefridus Schalcken, Young Girl with a Candle, oil on copper, 38 x 31.7 cm, present
location unknown, formerly in Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

2. Attributed to Godefridus Schalcken, Young Woman in Half-Length with a Candle, oil on panel, 36 x
30.8 cm, present location unknown, formerly in Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Schwerin. See Hofstede
de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of theSeventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. 8 vols. London, 1907–27. Translated from
Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des
XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28. London, 1916, no. 222.

3. Attributed to Godefridus Schalcken, A Young Lady with a Lighted Candle, 45.7 x 34.3 cm, present
location unknown. See Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most
Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. 8 vols. London,
1907–27. Translated from Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten
höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28. London, 1916, no.
222b.

4. Attributed to Godefridus Schalcken, A Young Lady Holding a Candle, oil on canvas, 47 x 37.5 cm,
present location unknown. See Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the
Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. 8 vols.
London, 1907–27. Translated from Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke derhervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28.
London, 1916, no. 222c.

Technical Summary
The support, a single plank of vertically grained, rectangular western European oak from a tree felled after
1727, has bevels along all four sides.[1] The panel is unthinned and uncradled and has no machine tool marks.
Traces of a gray-green radio-opaque priming along the panel reverse extend over a faint inscription. Five oldpaper labels, white chalk, red marker, and black inscriptions extend over the traces of priming. There are no
wax collection seals, import stamps or panel maker’s marks.
A light gray ground has been thinly and evenly applied.[2] The paint has been applied opaquely and mediumrich, which has allowed a fine network of drying cracks to form through the left side of the background,along the figure’s cheek, chin and neck depicted in highlight, and along the horizontal drapery folds below
the figure’s neck.
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No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 780–1000 nanometers, and in the Xradiograph, only the flame tip and the traces of priming along the reverse are identifiable.
The painting is (erroneously) signed in red paint along the lower right corner but isundated.[3] Dendrochronology indicates the oak support derives from a tree felled 21 years after Schalcken’s
death.
The painting has not undergone conservation treatment since its acquisition in 2004 and remains in a goodstate of preservation.

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. The characterization of the wood is based on Ian Tyers’s November 2012 dendrochronology report.

2. Visible in small areas of loss along the center of the lower edge and a small loss along the left verticaledge (11.5 cm up from the lower edge).
3. The painting was examined on-site. Further investigation under a stereomicroscope could help
determine whether the signature extends over cracks.

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