Stories & Videos

Masterworks

A Luminous Master Painting Comes to Life

New York | January 2017

Little is known of Adam de Coster, the Flemish candlelight painter famous for his stunning nocturnes of Caravaggio-like subjects. In this short video, we bring to life A Young Woman Holding a Distaff Before a Lit Candle, a highlight of Sotheby’s Master Paintings & Sculpture Evening auction on 25 January, whose dramatic contrast between the glow of a single flame and the shadows it casts defines de Coster’s work.

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