Artwork
Sleeping Nymph
Sleeping Nymph is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Toussaint Gelton. It dates from 1662 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1662, *Sleeping Nymph* is a small-scale work executed on copper. The Dutch artist Toussaint Gelton, active in the mid‑17th century, painted the scene in the Flemish Baroque idiom that characterized his mythological output. The piece belongs to the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a nude female figure reclining on a cloth within a forest clearing, accompanied by a young child who leans against a tree and gazes toward her. The tranquil interaction between the adult and child evokes a serene, perhaps protective, moment drawn from classical nymph imagery.
Technique & Style
Gelton employed the smooth, luminous surface of copper to achieve a delicate rendering of flesh and foliage. The painting’s soft transitions of light and shadow, coupled with a restrained palette, give the figures a seamless integration into the surrounding landscape, reflecting the gentle chiaroscuro typical of his Flemish Baroque influences.
History & Provenance
The work was produced during Gelton’s mature period after training in The Hague. It entered the Statens Museum for Kunst’s holdings in the 20th century, where it remains on display as part of the museum’s Dutch Baroque collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Toussaint Gelton (1630 – 1680) was a Dutch painter known for his work buying paintings in 1658 for the Swedish king Charles X Gustav and the family of Swedish noble Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie.
