The Story
Painting • Paintings
Created in 1552 during the Renaissance period, this work belongs firmly within the daily life tradition. Hans Brosamer worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil, gold, and white metal on linden, measuring Overall 18 1/4 x 13 1/8 in. (46.4 x 33.3 cm); painted surface 17 5/8 x 13 1/8 in. (44.8 x 33.3 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Hans Brosamer builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
