Lot 28: Pieter de Hooch (Rotterdam 1629-1684 Amsterdam)

Pieter de Hooch (Rotterdam 1629-1684 Amsterdam)
Mother and child with a serving woman sweeping
signed with the artist's monogram 'PH' (lower left, on the barrel)
oil on panel
17 x 15 1/8 in. (43.2 x 38.3 cm.)

London, Dulwich Picture Gallery, and Hartford, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Pieter de Hooch, 1629-1684, 3 September-15 November 1998, and 17 December 1998-27 February 1999, no. 7.

P. Sutton, Pieter de Hooch, Oxford, 1980, pp. 78, 99, no. 17, pl. 16.
M. Kersten et al., Delftse Meester, tijdgenoten van Vermeer, exhibition catalogue, Delft, 1996, p. 138, fig. 125.
P. Sutton, Pieter de Hooch, 1629-1684, exhibition catalogue, New Haven and London, 1998, p. 100, no. 7.

In an English, 17th century collection, no. 17 (according to an old label on the reverse).
with Edward Speelman, Ltd., London.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 9 July 1999, lot 13 (£155,500).

The present picture by de Hooch contains many elements that would come to characterize his oeuvre well into his maturity. The domestic subject matter, the daringly receeding perspective, the motif of windows and doorways, the symbolic meaning infused into everyday objects would all be used with increasing complexity by de Hooch throughout his career. In this picture we see a nascent, almost experimental foray into a format that de Hooch would ultimately master and define.

The deepening perspective created by the open doorway on the left is bracketed by a still life vignette of barrels and bowls in the foreground and a wall abruptly cutting off the view in the background. It is the artist's first step in creating the tunnel-like view into alleys, streets or enfilades of rooms that would open up such interior scenes. The patchwork of lead-glazed windows and open doorways which would evolve into a complex lighting scheme is first attempted here, though de Hooch chose a more diffuse and subtle glow to light the room. The broadly painted interior has certain objects that seem deliberately and specifically included. The servant holding a broom was associated with spiritual purity and moral cleansing in Dutch culture (Sutton, 1998, p. 100). The combination of the servant sweeping and the mother with her young child reinforces that meaning.

Peter Sutton wrote that this painting along with Woman preparing vegetables now in the Louvre are the two earliest examples of de Hooch's domestic scenes.