1755
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A Scientist Seated at a Desk by Candlelight is a 1755 unspecified by Anna Dorothea Therbusch, a Rococo painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a dark room leans over a cluttered desk, lit only by a single candle. Papers, books, and a skull sit around her. The flame throws sharp shadows across her face and hands. This painting was once rejected because the judges thought no woman could paint so well. Therbusch proved them wrong by painting in front of them. The candlelight technique—called *chiaroscuro*—makes the scene feel alive, with bright light against deep dark. If you like how light and shadow play here, look up *chiaroscuro*.
Candlelight subjects were unfashionable in Paris where Anna Dorothea Therbusch nonetheless submitted one for candidacy to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. She was denied one of three positions allotted to women artists on the grounds that a woman could not have painted such an accomplished work. Therbusch agreed to be observed painting by the male committee and was admitted to membership on her second attempt.
Therbusch’s painting career began when she was in her 40s, after her children had grown.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Anna Dorothea Therbusch (born Anna Dorothea Lisiewski, Polish: Anna Dorota Lisiewska, 23 July 1721 – 9 November 1782) was a prominent Rococo painter born in the Kingdom of Prussia.
See the richer artist page
