The Lacemaker

Curatorial Overview

“After training in his native Denmark, Bernhard Keil worked in Rembrandt’s studio and then, in 1651, left the Dutch Republic for Italy, where he eventually settled in Rome. This painting belongs to this last period in the artist’s career and shows more affinity with Italian painting than with the Dutch art of his youth. Although this appears to be a straightforward portrayal of a girl occupied by her knitting and lacemaking, many of Keil’s genre scenes had double meanings. Scholars have suggested that this painting belonged to a series of the five senses, and that the girl, focusing on her labor before the watchful gaze of the cat, may represent the sense of sight.”