It was entitled The Account Keeper, and it was done in 1656 by Nicolaes Maes. The painting shows an older women bent over a pile of books with her head resting on her left hand as if she is fighting sleep. There are ceramic bowls, ink bottles, baskets, key chains lying around on shelves and desks; the detail and thought that was put into this painting was quite impressive to me. There are obvious, structured parallel lines throughout the painting and the colors are mainly muted. A shaft of light is angled across the painting as if it is coming through a window, highlighting the woman and her work but casting the corners into shadow. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the work is the large map on the wall. Cartographers often study maps in old paintings such as this one to understand the 17th century’s idea of how world looked. It is often easier to find maps in artwork than actual maps because maps were not necessarily considered valuable or worth preserving at the
It was entitled The Account Keeper, and it was done in 1656 by Nicolaes Maes. The painting shows an older women bent over a pile of books with her head resting on her left hand as if she is fighting sleep. There are ceramic bowls, ink bottles, baskets, key chains lying around on shelves and desks; the detail and thought that was put into this painting was quite impressive to me. There are obvious, structured parallel lines throughout the painting and the colors are mainly muted. A shaft of light is angled across the painting as if it is coming through a window, highlighting the woman and her work but casting the corners into shadow. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the work is the large map on the wall. Cartographers often study maps in old paintings such as this one to understand the 17th century’s idea of how world looked. It is often easier to find maps in artwork than actual maps because maps were not necessarily considered valuable or worth preserving at the