Banquet at Night
1640 | Wolfgang Heimbach
Wolfgang Heimbach was one of the few important 17th-century painters in northern Germany. The charming and exciting atmosphere of this scene illuminated by strong candle-light is created by a magnificent juxtaposition of brightly lit and contre-jour (back-lit) elements. The tiled stove on the left, the Brussels tapestries on the walls and the wooden coffered ceiling provide the setting for the banquet. We know the identity of the impressive room: the apparently noble group has gathered in the Knights’ Hall of Vienna’s Hofburg Palace.
Wolfgang Heimbach was one of the few important 17th-century painters in northern Germany. The charming and exciting atmosphere of this scene illuminated by strong candle-light is created by a magnificent juxtaposition of brightly lit and contre-jour (back-lit) elements. The tiled stove on the left, the Brussels tapestries on the walls and the wooden coffered ceiling provide the setting for the banquet. We know the identity of the impressive room: the apparently noble group has gathered in the Knights’ Hall of Vienna’s Hofburg Palace.
Artist:
Wolfgang Heimbach (um 1613 Ovelgönne/Oldenburg - nach 1678 ?) DNB
Time:
1640
Object Name
Painting
Culture
German
Material/technology:
copper
Dimensions:
Overall: 64,2 cm × 117,6 cm × 3 cm
Framed: 78,2 cm × 132,5 cm × 8 cm
Signed
Inscribed and dated on the lower left side of a (fantasy?) coat of arms: W H P 1640
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 599
Provenance
1772 documented in the gallery