Abraham van Strij (1753-1826)

Although Van Strij became chiefly known for his genre pieces in the style of Pieter de Hooch, he began his career as an assistant in his father's paintershop, where he painted wall decorations. The present lot is characteristic of his oeuvre of the late 1780's and early 1790's. As pointed out by Ch. Dumas, "De decoratieve schilderkunst" in In helder licht etc., 2000, p.85, this type of grisaille on a dark background was probably inspired by the classical reliefs that had been excavated in Pompeï and Herculaneum.