Who painted Soldier with a girl?

Soldier with a girl was painted by Jacob Duck in 1660.

Where can I see Soldier with a girl?

Soldier with a girl is held by Fitzwilliam Museum.

What movement is Soldier with a girl?

Soldier with a girl is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Artwork

Soldier with a girl

Jacob Duck , 1660

Soldier with a girl is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jacob Duck. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1660, *Soldier with a Girl* is a small-scale work on copper by the Dutch artist Jacob Duck. Executed during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, the painting presents a quiet interior scene in which a soldier and a young woman share a drink. The composition is restrained, emphasizing the subdued interaction between the two figures.

Subject & Meaning

The work portrays a soldier in a gray coat with gold trim seated at a table, while a girl in a red dress stands nearby. Both hold glasses, suggesting a moment of shared leisure or perhaps a brief respite from military duties. The muted lighting and the figures’ introspective expressions convey a sense of private contemplation within an everyday setting.

Technique & Style

Duck employed the fine, smooth surface of copper to achieve delicate modeling and subtle tonal variations. The artist’s background as a goldsmith informs the precise rendering of textures, such as the sheen on the soldier’s coat and the soft folds of the girl’s dress. The muted palette and restrained chiaroscuro align the piece with genre scenes of mid‑seventeenth‑century Dutch painting.

History & Provenance

Jacob Duck, who worked in Utrecht, Haarlem, and The Hague, was known for genre subjects featuring soldiers and domestic interiors.

Jacob Duck, who worked in Utrecht, Haarlem, and The Hague, was known for genre subjects featuring soldiers and domestic interiors. *Soldier with a Girl* reflects his typical thematic interests and technical skill. The painting’s provenance traces back to private collections in the Netherlands before entering a museum inventory in the twentieth century, where it remains documented as an example of Duck’s copper works.