Artwork
'Differing tastes'
'Differing tastes' is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Godfried Schalcken. It dates from 1694 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
The application of oil paint allows for the detailed rendering typical of Schalcken's approach to genre subjects.
Executed in 1687, this genre scene by Godfried Schalcken is an oil painting applied on a wooden panel. The work measures 42.5 cm in height and 31 cm in width. As a panel painting from the late seventeenth century, the support consists of wood rather than canvas, a material choice characteristic of the Dutch Golden Age for small-scale cabinet pieces. The application of oil paint allows for the detailed rendering typical of Schalcken's approach to genre subjects.
History & Provenance
Godfried Schalcken created the oil painting 'Differing tastes' in 1687. Executed on a panel measuring 42.5 cm by 31 cm, the work entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum through the Kabinet van Heteren Gevers. The painting was owned by Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers prior to its acquisition by the museum.
Godfried Schalcken's painting Differing tastes (1687) is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The work resides specifically within the Kabinet van Heteren Gevers, a bequest associated with Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers. The oil-on-panel painting, measuring 42.5 cm in height and 31 cm in width, is cataloged under this specific collection designation at the museum.
The provided sources do not contain details regarding a specific inventory accession number or a record of past exhibitions for this work.
Overview
Created in 1694 by Dutch artist Godfried Schalcken, this oil painting portrays an intimate interior scene illuminated by a single candle. Executed in the meticulous style of the Leiden fijnschilders, the work exemplifies the quiet, domestic subjects favored during the Dutch Golden Age. It is part of the Rijksmuseum’s permanent collection.
Subject & Meaning
At the center sits a young man in a green velvet coat, white ruffled collar, and matching hat, holding a lit candle in his right hand. He lifts his gaze toward the upper left, suggesting a moment of contemplation or anticipation. Two additional figures linger in the shadowed background, their presence hinted at rather than defined, reinforcing the painting’s focus on solitary reflection.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Godfried Schalcken (8 October 1643 – 16 November 1706) was a Dutch artist who specialized in genre paintings and portraits.
- The Flageolet Player
A man with a pipe and a man filling his glass
Boy Playing the Flute by Lamplight
Young Woman Holding a Lamp
A Soldier Smoking a Pipe
Boy lighting a candle from a wick
Die Nagelprobe
The Smoker (A Man with a Pipe and a Man Pouring a Beverage into a Glass)
Fire and Light (A Girl Places a Candle in a Lantern and a Boy Blows on the Coals in a Chafing-Dish)
The Smoker at the Fireside
Self-portrait
Girl with Burning Candle