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Interior of a Dutch House
Pieter de Hooch (Dutch, 1629–after 1684)
about 1680
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
57.5 x 69.8 cm (22 5/8 x 27 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds from the bequest of Susan Cornelia Warren
Accession Number03.607
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Pieter de Hooch was fascinated by the geometry of domestic interiors. Here, he creates a harmonious space articulated by geometric floors, rectangular and oval window panes, and neatly defined doorways. He further evokes a convincing sense of depth through the use of light, color, and perspective. Notice the dark interior room that opens into a brightly lit foyer, which in turn leads the eye to a dark canal and a sun-filled skyline. His use of color ties the various parts of the composition together: the rose-tint of the standing woman’s shoe is echoed in the red curtain in the foyer and the pink horizon.
InscriptionsLower left: P. d. Hoogh / A 168[0?]
ProvenanceMay 23, 1764, anonymous sale, Hendrik de Winter, Amsterdam, lot 179, to Van der Schley [see note 1]. 1863, Jean-Jacques Meffre, Paris; March 9, 1863, Meffre sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 43, sold for 4950 fr [see note 2]. 1869, Comte de Bearnetz, Paris; February 12, 1869, Bearnetz sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 17, sold for 1200 fr. 1874, Bernier de Passy, Paris; May 5, 1874, Bernier de Passy sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 23, sold for 2500 fr. Josef Ritter von Lippmann Lissingen, Vienna; March 16, 1876, Lissingen sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 25, sold for 4,000 fr. Étienne Martin, Baron de Beurnonville (b. 1825 - d. 1906), Paris; May 9-16, 1881, Beurnonville sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, lot 337, to Alfred Walcher, Ritter von Moltheim for 7,200 fr. May 16, 1882, Prince Liechtenstein sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 23, to Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris for 4,800 fr.; January 26, 1886, sold by Sedelmeyer to Colnaghi, London. 1889, David P. Sellar, London; June 6, 1889, Sellar sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, lot 42, to Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris, for 6,000 fr.; 1889, sold by Sedelmeyer to Durand-Ruel, Paris and New York. 1898, Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris [see note 3]. Susan Cornelia Clarke (Mrs. Samuel Dennis) Warren (b. 1858 - d. 1901), Boston; January 8, 1903, Mrs. S. D. Warren sale, American Art Association, New York, lot 97, to Samuel Putnam Avery, New York, for the MFA for $3,500. (Accession Date: January 13, 1903)
NOTES:
[1] See Peter Sutton, Pieter de Hooch (Oxford, 1980), pp. 114-115, cat. no. 140.
[2] Titled "Départ pour le marche," and erroneously said to be dated 1656. In the catalogues for each of the nineteenth-century sales in which this painting was included, the date was said to be 1656. It also bore several different titles, including "Intérieur hollandais," "La ménagère hollandaise," and "Les ménagères hollandaises."
[3] Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings by Old Masters (Paris: Sedelmeyer Gallery, 1898), p. 88, cat. no. 73 (as "Dutch Housewives").
NOTES:
[1] See Peter Sutton, Pieter de Hooch (Oxford, 1980), pp. 114-115, cat. no. 140.
[2] Titled "Départ pour le marche," and erroneously said to be dated 1656. In the catalogues for each of the nineteenth-century sales in which this painting was included, the date was said to be 1656. It also bore several different titles, including "Intérieur hollandais," "La ménagère hollandaise," and "Les ménagères hollandaises."
[3] Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings by Old Masters (Paris: Sedelmeyer Gallery, 1898), p. 88, cat. no. 73 (as "Dutch Housewives").