Candlelight Figures Round A Table

Composition Figures Round a Table by Candlelight is a large oil on canvas created by Gerrit van Deurs c. 1663-1664. This painting is horizontal is 52 ¼ in. x 74 ¼ in and hangs in the Power-Piety Prestige Gallery at the Columbus Museum of Art. Figures Round a Table by Candlelight has some traditional compositional techniques, but also displays some interesting non-traditional methods that work well to create a strong composition. Three figures are seated around a small rectangular table, occupying the left two thirds of the canvas. A woman stands slightly in the background on the right side of the canvas. The three figures create a traditional triangular composition, effectively leading the viewer’s eye around the painting. The head of the figure in the center of the painting serves as the top of the triangle. Each of these figures, including the woman to the right, is gazing in a different direction. This serves well to move the viewer’s eye around, as well as to create intrigue with their concerned facial expressions and gestures.
His left hand is open and extended, and located very close to the center of the composition. In his right hand, he is holding the handle of a tall silver urn. The curved spout of the urn also leads the eye to his illuminated hand and what appears to be a dish of food on the table. The figure in the front of the canvas faces the man on the left side of the canvas. She appears to be speaking to him, and has her right hand raised as if to emphasize something in the conversation. Her hand is almost directly in the center of the composition, is strongly illuminated to show imp, and the position of her hand also directs the eye to the main figure on the left. The woman to the far right of the composition also gazes toward the main figure. All of these elements emphasize the figure on the left side to be the focal