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Old Woman Praying

late 1630s or early 1640s
Not on view
The earliest known reference to Stom (wrongly called Stomer in modern literature) dates from 1630, when he was living in the same house in Rome that the Utrecht painter Paulus Bor occupied about five years earlier. About 1632 Stom went to Naples, and in the 1640s he was active in Palermo and elsewhere in Sicily. Antonio Ruffo, the nobleman in Messina for whom Rembrandt painted Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (61.198) in 1653, purchased three works by Stom between 1646 and 1649. Both the name Stom and the usual description of him as "fiamingo" indicate that he was Flemish, not Dutch. He specialized in exaggerated Caravaggesque effects of light and shadow, with leathery surfaces suited to his frequent representation of elderly characters.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Old Woman Praying
  • Artist: Matthias Stom (Dutch, Amersfoort?, born ca. 1599–1600, died after 1652 ?Italy)
  • Date: late 1630s or early 1640s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 30 5/8 x 25 1/8 in. (77.8 x 63.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Ian Woodner, 1981
  • Object Number: 1981.25
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Cain fleeing after having slain Abel, Matthias Stom Dutch, Etching
Cain fleeing after having slain Abel
Matthias Stom
Anonymous, Italian, 17th century
ca. 1640–60
Merry Company on a Terrace, Jan Steen Dutch, Oil on canvas
Merry Company on a Terrace
Jan Steen
ca. 1670
Self-Portrait, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Oil on canvas
Self-Portrait
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1660
The Dissolute Household, Jan Steen Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Dissolute Household
Jan Steen
ca. 1663–64
Young Herdsmen with Cows, Aelbert Cuyp Dutch, Oil on canvas
Young Herdsmen with Cows
Aelbert Cuyp
ca. 1655–60

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