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KEIL, Bernhard - b. 1624 Helsingör, d. 1687 Roma - WGA

KEIL, Bernhard

(b. 1624 Helsingör, d. 1687 Roma)

Bernhard Keil (Eberhard Keilhau), Danish painter, active mainly in Italy, where he was known as ‘Monsù Bernardo’; he was the first painter from his country to enjoy more than a local reputation. Keil studied in Copenhagen and then with Rembrandt in Amsterdam, c. 1642-44. In 1651 he moved to Italy, where he lived for the rest of his life, settling in Rome in 1656.

Life-size genre pictures of a few figures were his speciality. His themes are often related to simple allegorical subjects such as the Five Senses, the Seasons, and the Four Elements, and as protagonists he favoured dignified old people or children dressed in old clothes and rags. Keil provided Filippo Baldinucci with information about Rembrandt that he used in his book on engraving and etching (1686).

Boy Warming himself over Embers
Boy Warming himself over Embers by

Boy Warming himself over Embers

This painting and its companion-piece Girl Binding a Wreath of Flowers show children’s activities. They probably belonged to a larger series depicting the Five Senses, executed in Rome where the painter settled in 1656.

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Girl Binding a Wreath of Flowers
Girl Binding a Wreath of Flowers by

Girl Binding a Wreath of Flowers

This painting and its companion-piece Boy Warming himself over Embers show children’s activities. They probably belonged to a larger series depicting the Five Senses, executed in Rome where the painter settled in 1656.

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Interior Scene
Interior Scene by

Interior Scene

Keil is known to have often included allegorical meanings in his genre scenes. This painting, which depicts four figures in an interior gathered around a brazier, may allude to the various stages of a woman’s life: childhood, youth, maturity and old age.

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Return from the Hunt
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Return from the Hunt

Keil spent most of his career in Italy where he obtained numerous commissions for religious pictures and portraits in particular. However, his genre paintings are better known.

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The Grape-Picker
The Grape-Picker by

The Grape-Picker

The subject of this painting, the grape-picker, recurs throughout the career of the artist, and he developed it in several variations, from a single figure to multi-figures compositions. The version displayed here presents a novelty: the grape-picker returning from the vineyard after a long day’s work lifts his hat as if to greet the viewer as he passes by.

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Young Boy Selling Vegetables
Young Boy Selling Vegetables by

Young Boy Selling Vegetables

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