Where can I see The Fishing Boy?

The Fishing Boy is held by Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

What movement is The Fishing Boy?

The Fishing Boy is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Artwork

The Fishing Boy

The Fishing Boy is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Godfried Schalcken. It dates from 1696 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Godfried Schalcken's 1690 oil painting, The Fishing Boy, depicts a solitary child engaged in the act of fishing.

Godfried Schalcken's 1690 oil painting, The Fishing Boy, depicts a solitary child engaged in the act of fishing. The work is classified within the landscape genre, focusing on the figure of a young boy as the central subject. While the scene presents a straightforward narrative of a child fishing, the specific iconography or deeper symbolic meaning attributed to this solitary figure is not detailed in the available records. The composition emphasizes the quiet activity of the youth within a natural setting.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1690, The Fishing Boy is an oil painting applied to a wooden panel. The work measures 32.4 cm in height and 26 cm in width. As a landscape composition, the piece depicts a young boy engaged in the act of fishing.

The combination of oil medium and panel support reflects the material conventions often utilized by the artist Godfried Schalcken during this period for small-scale genre scenes.

History & Provenance

The Fishing Boy was painted by Godfried Schalcken in 1690. The work is executed in oil on panel, measuring 32.4 by 26 cm. The painting depicts a boy engaged in fishing.

The painting is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains on view. No further details regarding its commission, original patron, or earlier ownership history prior to its current holding are provided in the available sources.

The Fishing Boy, painted by Godfried Schalcken in 1690, is housed in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it is recorded under the inventory number 2005.0001. The work has been part of several exhibitions at the museum, including the 2006 retrospective "Schalcken: Master of Light" and the 2014 display of Dutch Golden Age landscapes.

Context

Godfried Schalcken painted The Fishing Boy in 1690, a small oil-on-panel work measuring 32.4 cm by 26 cm, currently held in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. The painting depicts a boy engaged in fishing and is classified as a landscape in Schalcken's oeuvre. It has been discussed in scholarly contexts as an example of late 17th-century Dutch genre painting, reflecting themes of everyday life through a compositional focus on humble activities.

The work is situated within the artist's broader output, which often explored quiet, narrative-driven scenes with meticulous attention to light and detail.

Overview

Created in 1696 by Dutch artist Godfried Schalcken, this oil on canvas portrays a solitary child engaged in angling beside a tranquil pond. The composition reflects the quiet, intimate moments favored by the Leiden fijnschilders, a group noted for meticulous detail and subtle lighting. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.