17th century Flemish school

Flemish school of the 17th century.
"Old woman".
Oil on canvas.
Certificate on the back.
Measurements: 73 x 59,5 cm.

Scene of marked realism in which the author presents a stark portrait wrapped in the twilight, which highlights the long bust of an old woman. Being a model taken from the streets, the author has sacralized the figure of a peasant woman, turning her into the protagonist of a rough and stark painting that appeals to the viewer and confronts him with a reality that is usually ignored. The woman has been portrayed with only a candle in her hand, thus the portrait acquires a great psychological depth, which is reinforced by the gesture of the face and body, presenting the old woman, tired but at the same time expectant to the scrutiny of the viewer's gaze.
During the 17th century, representations of the most underprivileged classes of society (beggars, beggars, peasants, dwarfs and vagabonds) and of the humblest trades were especially valued, depicted with great dignity and realism. This trend spread to all artistic fields, both in the painting of the seventeenth century reflects the idiosyncrasy of the Baroque celebrated through opposites, which made the most important personalities of the time coexist in the same space with the lower classes.