Velázquez’s composition is set in the interior of a shallow kitchen with a strong contrast of light and shade. An old woman in a white dress cooks a pair of eggs floating in oil in an earthenware dish on a cooker (some authors have described them as poached, although they are clearly being fried). With a wooden spoon in his right hand and about to crack the egg, the moment of maximum tension in the action is captured, together with the arrival of the young man, thus proving to be a particularly baroque scene. The artistic study of the objects has been carried out in detail due to the interest of the optical effects sought by the Sevillian artist. Special attention should be paid to the fact that this type of painting was executed during the painter’s first period in his native city, which would tell us about the way Sevillian society functioned at the beginning of the 17th century.

Collection: Images

Project: 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe., 8. Women and the change for gender equality in Europe.

Chronology: XVII

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate

Link: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/an-old-woman-cooking-eggs-diego-velazquez/yAExwHvTwQkv1Q

Resource type: Image

Format: Oil on canvas (99 x 169cm)

Source: Galería Nacional de Escocia (Edimburgo, Escocia)

Language: English

Date: 1618

Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)

Copyright: Galería Nacional de Escocia (Edimburgo, Escocia)

Abstract: Costumbrista scenes in the kitchens of 17th-century Spain, painted by Velázquez

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