Old Woman with A Candle c. 18th century

Curator: This is “Old Woman with A Candle” by an artist known as de Mautort, currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. The dimensions of the image are roughly 28 by 23 centimeters. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It feels like a glimpse into someone’s quiet moment, an aging woman with a candle casting shadows that seem to amplify the solitude. I wonder what story that light is trying to tell. Curator: During this era, the image of the "old woman" was used to evoke pathos. Mautort's work invites us to reflect on changing societal views of aging and the representation of women. Editor: It makes you think, doesn't it? Is she worried, or simply watching the night? The single candle says so much with so little. Curator: Absolutely. Mautort uses the iconography of light and shadow to convey a universal story. Editor: And that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it? A tiny flame igniting a vast landscape of thoughts and emotions.