Girl Asleep
- Catalog
- WD-D16
- Artist
- Willem Drost
- Year
- c. 1656
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink
- Dimensions
- Unknown
- Location
- Present location unknown
Description
A genre drawing of a young woman asleep, demonstrating Drost's interest in capturing quiet, everyday moments alongside his more formal biblical and portrait subjects.
Analysis
This drawing, attributed to Drost by PubHist (c. 1656), belongs to his Italian period and shows a gentler, more intimate side of his graphic work. The sleeping figure subject was common in Dutch Golden Age art, with precedents in Rembrandt's studies. The soft handling and intimate subject suggest a private study rather than a finished work.
Historical Context
Drost traveled to Italy around 1655, living in Rome where he joined the Bentvueghels society, and later Venice where he encountered the Tenebrosi movement. He collaborated closely with Johann Carl Loth on a series of the Four Evangelists. In Amsterdam, Rembrandt was declared bankrupt in 1656. Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan and patented the pendulum clock. Drost died in Venice in 1659 at approximately 25 years old.