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Allegory of 'Winter' Cesar van Everdingen Dutch Oil on canvas circa 1650
A young woman is warming herself by a brazier containing hot glowing coals. Her dress forms a screen above the fire trapping and spreading the heat. She is clearly engrossed in what she is doing and her eyes are cast down.
This beautiful portrait is painted with extreme precision : the refined lace along her cap and neck, the cameo earrings with pearls and the string of pearls around her neck. An invisible light source illuminates the young woman's face from top left. A shadow falls across her neck . Some light falls upon her lower lip and a spot on her chin. This attention to the fall of the light and shadow display the influence of the Caravaggist's under whom Cesar probably trained.
The use of colour is also beautifully deployed and strikingly original . The soft pink and blue-grey tones , little used at this time , provide a beautiful balance with the red-brown brazier and the white cap strongly contrasts with the dark-grey background.
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