A page from the artist's illustrated diary: A dancing party at the Pingelenburg near Amsterdam

This drawing and lots 45, 46, and 48 come from Christiaan Andriessen's illustrated diary which the artist used between 1805 and 1808 and where he drew his family, his friends, his surroundings and the events of the day. About 250 pages from the diary are preserved in the Amsterdam Stadsarchief and in the library of the Royal Antiquarian Society in the Rijksmuseum (see A. Hoogenboom, B. Gerlagh, J. Stroop, De wereld van Christiaan Andriessen, Amsterdamse dagboektekeningen 1805-1808, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Stadsarchief, Amsterdam).

The country house depicted here is the Pingelenburg on the Amsteldijk near Amsterdam. It belonged in the beginning of the 19th century to the Trip de Marez family but was rented during the summer months by the merchant Dirk Roelof Dirkse, an acquaintance of Christiaan Andriessen who was also giving drawing lessons to Dircse's daughters. There are two drawings showing the interior of the house in Christiaan's illustrated diary in the Stadsarchief, Amsterdam. Both are dated 1806 (22 May and 19 June) and it is very likely that the present drawing was executed the same year.

The figure on the right seen from the back is probably Christiaan as he often represents himself that way and wearing a hat.

We are grateful to Robert Jan te Rijdt for his help in cataloguing this drawing.