Gerrit van Honthorst

Old woman examining a coin by a lantern (Sight or Avarice)

Old woman examining a coin by a lantern is a superb example of the work of Gerrit van Honthorst. Recent analysis suggests that the date is most probably ‘1623’. This would make the scene one of Van Honthorst’s earliest genre pieces, produced in Utrecht in the early 1620s, shortly after his return from Italy. It is highly probable that Rembrandt drew inspiration from Van Honthorst in his youth. Rembrandt’s Old man counting his money (Avarice) from 1627 (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie) is very close to the present work in conception and execution; it is easy to imagine that Rembrandt knew and admired the present work.