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Young Woman Eating Sweets
Godfried Schalcken (Dutch, 1643–1706)
1680–85
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
18.7 x 15.6 cm (7 3/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
Framed: 37.1 x 33.7 x 6.4 cm (14 5/8 x 13 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Framed: 37.1 x 33.7 x 6.4 cm (14 5/8 x 13 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2019.2097
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Caught in the act. This young woman makes eye contact with us, as she lifts a fingertip of sugar to her mouth. Her other hand clutches a polished silver sugar bowl. Over the course of the 17th century, Dutch imports of Brazilian and Caribbean sugar increased dramatically and prices fell, turning this rarity into a widely available delight. Schalcken rhymes the seductions of sugar with the woman’s sensuality to emphasize the painting’s own allure as a luxury item, ostensibly for male consumers.
ProvenanceBy 1752, Johan Diderik van Slingelandt (b. 1703 – d. 1757), The Hague [see note 1]; by descent to his wife, Petronella van Slingelandt van der Burch (b. 1708 – d. 1790), The Hague; November 16, 1790, posthumous Mme. van Slingelandt sale, Thierry and Mensing, The Hague, lot 6, sold to Van Cleef [see note 2]. Johan Goll van Franckenstein Jr. (b. 1756 – d. 1821), Velsen and Amsterdam; by descent to his son, Pieter Hendrik Goll van Franckenstein (b. 1787 – d. 1832); July 1, 1833, posthumous Goll van Franckenstein sale, Amsterdam, lot 71, sold to Woodin. Charles Brind (b. 1788 – d. 1848), London; May 10, 1849, posthumous Brind sale, Christie’s, London, lot 42, sold to J. Brind. Norman Forbes Robertson (b. 1858 – d. 1932), London. Private collection, France [see note 3]. 1996, sold by Haboldt and Co., New York, to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA; 2019, gift of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 11, 2019)
NOTES:
[1] According to Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of Naamlyst van schilderyen, vol. 2 (The Hague, 1752), p. 406.
[2] Seller information according to Brill Art Sales Catalogues online, Lugt 4638.
[3] Information about Robertson and the French private collection is taken from Anja Sevcik, Schalcken: Gemalte Verführung (Cologne, 2015), cat. 32.
NOTES:
[1] According to Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of Naamlyst van schilderyen, vol. 2 (The Hague, 1752), p. 406.
[2] Seller information according to Brill Art Sales Catalogues online, Lugt 4638.
[3] Information about Robertson and the French private collection is taken from Anja Sevcik, Schalcken: Gemalte Verführung (Cologne, 2015), cat. 32.