Artwork
Boy Stealing an Apple from a Sleeping Woman
Boy Stealing an Apple from a Sleeping Woman is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gabriel Metsu. It dates from 1662 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Gabriel Metsu’s 1662 oil on canvas, *Boy Stealing an Apple from a Sleeping Woman*, exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age’s genre‑painting tradition. The work measures modestly and is part of the Statens Museum for Kunst’s collection. It captures a quiet domestic moment rendered with meticulous detail, typical of Mets’ late output.
Subject & Meaning
A young boy in a blue coat reaches for an apple placed in a bowl on a table, while an elderly woman in a black dress lies reclined with eyes closed, appearing asleep. The juxtaposition of the boy’s furtive gesture and the woman’s oblivious slumber suggests a subtle moral narrative about temptation and deceit in everyday life.
Technique & Style
Metsu employs a restrained palette of muted tones, illuminated by a single light source entering from the left. The chiaroscuro highlights the boy’s outstretched hand and the gleam of the apple, while the surrounding objects—a fish and vegetables—are rendered with fine brushwork that conveys texture and materiality.
History & Provenance
Although Metsu produced over a hundred paintings, few are dated; this piece bears the 1662 signature, placing it among his later works. It entered the Statens Museum for Kunst collection, where it remains on display, offering insight into the artist’s late period and the broader Dutch genre tradition.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gabriël Metsu (1629–1667) was a Dutch painter of history paintings, still lifes, portraits, and genre works.
