Interiors with figures by candle or lamp light were the specialty of Johannes Rosierse. This painter from Dordrecht was initially a clerk but eventually opted for the artist's existence. He was taught by his fellow residents Machiel Versteeg and Johannes Boshamer, who initiated him into the secrets of candle and lamplight painting. For almost half a century - between 1840 and 1889 - Rosierse regularly exhibited at the annual Exhibition of Living Masters. He was an honorary member of the Dordrecht artists' society 'Pictura'.