A Lady teaching a Child to Read
- Artist: Caspar Netscher
- Date: probably 1670s
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
A Lady teaching a Child to Read by Caspar Netscher. This delightful painting is thought to have been painted in the 1670s, and it's a great example of Dutch Baroque art. The scene depicts two children, a girl and a boy, both engaged in different activities.
The girl is learning to read with the help of a woman, who guides her pencil as she stumbles through her reading. The woman is immaculately dressed, with a spotless white fichu round her neck and her ringlets held in place with blue ribbons. However, it's not clear if she's the mother or a maid helping with the lesson.
The boy, on the other hand, is playing with a tiny dog on the floor. His toys are scattered around him, including a top and a cheap broadsheet with coloured pictures. The overall scene is one of happy chaos, beautifully painted by Netscher's expert hand.
It's worth noting that there may be a moral to this painting, but it was likely bought for its entertainment value rather than any deeper meaning. The artist has cleverly captured the innocence and joy of childhood in this charming scene.
See it in person
A Lady teaching a Child to Read 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.
