A Lady at a Spinning-wheel
- Artist: Caspar Netscher
- Date: 1665
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "A Lady at a Spinning-wheel" by Caspar Netscher. Painted in 1665, it's an oil on wood painting. What we see here is a young woman seemingly lost in thought, her mind not on the task of spinning wool as she holds it between her hands. Instead, she looks out at us with a direct, enquiring gaze, as if waiting for someone to enter the room.
You can almost sense the rich textures of her clothing - the white satin skirt, the fur and velvet jacket - Netscher was known for his attention to detail in portraying fabrics. And take a look at the background, where we see hints of the spinning wheel's mechanism glinting in the light.
This painting seems to be both a genre scene and a portrait, as it captures a real moment in time while also being carefully composed to appeal to the viewer. The young woman's expensive dress suggests she might be from a prosperous family, but her pose and expression are more than just a depiction of domesticity - there's a subtle erotic nuance at play here.
See it in person
A Lady at a Spinning-wheel hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
