Artwork
A Sleeping Girl (Boy ?) with a Songbook
A Sleeping Girl (Boy ?) with a Songbook is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Bernhard Keil. It dates from 1671 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Bernhard Keil’s oil painting dated 1671, titled *A Sleeping Girl (Boy ?) with a Songbook*, is part of the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst. The work presents a quiet domestic interior in which a young child lies asleep on a table, surrounded by modest objects that suggest a moment of repose.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure appears to be a girl, swathed in a red shawl and a yellow skirt, her head supported by a dark object that may be a book or a small box. Her hands are gently placed—one on the tabletop, the other on the dark object—while a basket and an open songbook with unreadable text lie nearby, hinting at a narrative of leisure and study.
Technique & Style
Keil employs a restrained chiaroscuro, allowing light to illuminate the child’s face and garments while the surrounding space recedes into shadow. The warm palette of reds and yellows enhances the intimate atmosphere, and the careful rendering of textures—from the fabric’s folds to the wooden surface—demonstrates the artist’s skill in oil painting.
History & Provenance
Since its creation in the early 1670s, the painting has remained in the public domain, ultimately entering the holdings of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Its presence in the museum’s collection reflects the institution’s focus on European Baroque works and provides scholars with a clear example of Keil’s oeuvre during his mature period.
Artist & collection
