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Lot Essay
Born in Rotterdam, De Hooch was, according to Houbraken, a pupil of the Haarlem landscape painter Nicolaes Berchem. He is first recorded in Delft in August 1652 and although documents of April 1654 describe him as a resident of Rotterdam, he married in Delft in the following month, was inscribed as a member of the painters' guild there in September 1655 and is mentioned there again in 1657. By April 1660 he appears to have moved to Amsterdam, where he remained until his death, impoverished and insane, twenty-four years later. De Hooch's period in Delft thus lasted less than a decade but it was in these years that he made his contribution to the development of Dutch painting.
His achievement in the late 1650s directly parallels that of the Delft-born Jan Vermeer, who was less than three years his junior. During his time in Delft, both artists came under the influence of the colour and strict lines of the art of Carel Fabritius. De Hooch developed a personal style, basing his compositions on a skilful use of perspective with natural light falling on a scene. The present lot portrays the Dutch ideals of domesticity, and illustrates his dependence on figure groups and contrasts of light and shadow that lead the eye towards a series of doorways and windows.
His achievement in the late 1650s directly parallels that of the Delft-born Jan Vermeer, who was less than three years his junior. During his time in Delft, both artists came under the influence of the colour and strict lines of the art of Carel Fabritius. De Hooch developed a personal style, basing his compositions on a skilful use of perspective with natural light falling on a scene. The present lot portrays the Dutch ideals of domesticity, and illustrates his dependence on figure groups and contrasts of light and shadow that lead the eye towards a series of doorways and windows.