Vrouw in nachtkleding, met een kaars 1683 - 1726

Curator: So, here we have Nicolaas Verkolje's "Woman in Nightgown, with a Candle," created sometime between 1683 and 1726. It’s currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My initial feeling? It's so...intimate. Like a stolen moment, you know? The light and shadow—it’s all whispering secrets. Curator: Absolutely. Formally, notice how Verkolje uses a pen to capture the subtle play of light across her face and gown. The baroque aesthetic shines through its dramatic contrast of light and dark, chiaroscuro. This isn’t just a portrait; it’s a genre painting that plays with the theme of figuration, but adds an element of voyeurism. Editor: Voyeurism, yes! I think it’s enhanced by that nude-adjacent feeling. We see just a glimpse of skin and it immediately sets a specific tone...But there’s something else— a sense of calm amid all that shadow. What do you suppose she’s thinking? Curator: Well, the drawing offers no narrative context beyond the candle itself, so that is for each viewer to bring and unpack themselves. The way Verkolje manipulates tone and form brings her into existence—the artwork gives form to feeling itself, almost as if the artist aimed to illuminate her interior as much as her features. It’s less about representing someone and more about a state of mind. Editor: Yes! A flicker in the darkness. You look at this face, and that almost timid smile...it just has me wondering about untold dreams in a world of shadow. Thanks, Nicolaas, for the window into such gentle self-reflection. Curator: And Verkolje, through skillful artistic ability, allows her and by extension us all to inhabit that twilight space between awareness and pure artistic license.