Astronomer by Candlelight

Gerrit Dou

late 1650s

Oil on panel, Oil

J. Paul Getty Museum

A man with a candle illuminating an open book and astronomical instruments sits at a table in a dark room. In an arched, window-like opening, an astronomer works late into the night. Concentrating, he reads an astronomical treatise and measures the distance between two points on a celestial globe. The candle he holds provides the only source of light; it illuminates his face, the book, the precious globe, the beaker of water, and his hourglass. Strong contrasts between light and dark show the painter Gerrit Dou's knowledge of a popular Baroque technique known as chiaroscuro . Carefully rendering minute details such as the handwriting in the book, the texture of the glass flask, and the folds in the astronomer's cloak was Dou's special ta