Interior with Man Reading
Jan Ekels The Younger 1759 - 1793
Summary
Light streaming through a gap in the curtains illuminates the subject of this painting as he relaxes and reads his paper. His slightly open mouth and frown give him a sense of character, as he reacts to the news. Ekels' careful observation is revealed in details such as the Dutch tiles along the bottom of the wall and the hanging board game. Jan Ekels worked in Amsterdam in the late 1700s, but was inspired by earlier Dutch genre painting, especially works by Gerard ter Borch and Vermeer, and this is a good example of the taste at that time for the revival of the Dutch Golden Age. A small, folded piece of paper on the lower left bears the artist's signature and the date, whose final digit is hard to make out.
Display Label
Interior with man reading 1784 Jan Ekels the younger 1759-93 Oil on canvas The light streams in through a gap in the curtains and illuminates the man as he relaxes and reads his paper. His slightly open mouth and frown give him a sense of character, as he reacts to the news. Ekels’ careful observation is revealed in details such as the Dutch tiles along the bottom of the wall and the hanging board game. Jan Ekels worked in Amsterdam in the late 1700s but was inspired by earlier Dutch genre painting, especially works by Gerard ter Borch and Vermeer. Gift of James Porter 1935.286
Object Name
Interior with Man Reading
Creators Name
Date Created
1784 or 1789
Dimensions
unframed: 57.4cm x 46.6cm
framed: 72cm x 61cm
accession number
1935.286
Place of creation
Holland
Support
canvas
Medium
oil paint
On Display
[G14] Manchester Art Gallery - Gallery 14 - TEMPORARILY CLOSED
View all
Credit
Gift of James Porter
Legal
© Manchester Art Gallery