Pieter de Hooch
Encyclopedia
Pieter de Hooch (ˈpitər də ɦoʊx, also spelled "Hoogh" or "Hooghe") (December 20, 1629 (baptized) – 24 March 1684 (buried)) was a genre painter during the Dutch Golden Age
. He was a contemporary of Dutch Master Jan Vermeer, with whom his work shared themes and style.
to Hendrick Hendricksz de Hooch, a bricklayer
, and Annetge Pieters, a midwife
. He was the eldest of five children and outlived all of his siblings. He studied art in Haarlem
under the landscape painter, Nicolaes Berchem
. Beginning in 1650, he worked as a painter and servant for a linen-merchant and art collector named Justus de la Grange. His service for the merchant required him to accompany him on his travels to The Hague
, Leiden, and Delft
, to which he eventually moved. It is likely that de Hooch handed over most of his works to la Grange during this period in exchange for board and other benefits, as this was a common commercial arrangement for painters at the time, and a later inventory recorded that la Grange possessed eleven of his paintings.
De Hooch was married in Delft in 1654 to Jannetje van der Burch, by whom he fathered seven children. While in Delft, de Hooch is also believed to have learned from the painters Carel Fabritius
and Nicolaes Maes
, who were both early members of the Delft School
. He became a member of the painters' guild of Saint Luke
in 1655, and had moved to Amsterdam
by 1661.
The early work of de Hooch, like most young painters of his time, was mostly composed of scenes of soldiers in stables and taverns, though he used these to develop great skill in light, color, and perspective
rather than to explore an interest in the subject matter. After starting his family in the mid-1650s, he switched his focus to domestic scenes and family portraits. His work showed astute observation of the mundane details of everyday life while also functioning as well-ordered morality tales. These paintings often exhibited a sophisticated and delicate treatment of light similar to those of Vermeer, who lived in Delft at the same time as de Hooch. 19th century art historians
had assumed that Vermeer had been influenced by de Hooch's work, but the opposite is now believed.
Though he began to paint for wealthier patrons in Amsterdam, he lived in the poorest areas of the city. Around this time, de Hooch's painting style became coarser and darker in color, and his simple domestic scenes were replaced by highly-decorated images set in palatial halls and country villas. Most scholars believe that de Hooch's work after around 1670 became more stylized and deteriorated in quality. It may be that his distress (at age 38, with a young family) at the death of his wife (in 1667) affected his work. In any case, his health was now deteriorating, and he died in 1684 in an Amsterdam insane asylum, though the direct cause of his admission there is unknown.
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
. He was a contemporary of Dutch Master Jan Vermeer, with whom his work shared themes and style.
Biography
De Hooch was born in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
to Hendrick Hendricksz de Hooch, a bricklayer
Bricklayer
A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...
, and Annetge Pieters, a midwife
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
. He was the eldest of five children and outlived all of his siblings. He studied art in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
under the landscape painter, Nicolaes Berchem
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre pieces....
. Beginning in 1650, he worked as a painter and servant for a linen-merchant and art collector named Justus de la Grange. His service for the merchant required him to accompany him on his travels to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Leiden, and Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, to which he eventually moved. It is likely that de Hooch handed over most of his works to la Grange during this period in exchange for board and other benefits, as this was a common commercial arrangement for painters at the time, and a later inventory recorded that la Grange possessed eleven of his paintings.
De Hooch was married in Delft in 1654 to Jannetje van der Burch, by whom he fathered seven children. While in Delft, de Hooch is also believed to have learned from the painters Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius was a Dutch painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils.-Biography:Fabritius was born in Beemster, the ten-year old polder, as the son of a schoolteacher. Initially he worked as a carpenter . In the early 1640s he studied at Rembrandt's studio in Amsterdam, along with his...
and Nicolaes Maes
Nicolaes Maes
Nicolaes Maes, also known as Nicolaes Maas was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre and portraits.-Biography:...
, who were both early members of the Delft School
Delft School (painting)
The Delft School is a category of mid-17th century Dutch Golden Age painting named after its main base, Delft. It is best known for genre painting: images of domestic life, views of households, church interiors, courtyards, squares and the streets of that city...
. He became a member of the painters' guild of Saint Luke
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...
in 1655, and had moved to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
by 1661.
The early work of de Hooch, like most young painters of his time, was mostly composed of scenes of soldiers in stables and taverns, though he used these to develop great skill in light, color, and perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
rather than to explore an interest in the subject matter. After starting his family in the mid-1650s, he switched his focus to domestic scenes and family portraits. His work showed astute observation of the mundane details of everyday life while also functioning as well-ordered morality tales. These paintings often exhibited a sophisticated and delicate treatment of light similar to those of Vermeer, who lived in Delft at the same time as de Hooch. 19th century art historians
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
had assumed that Vermeer had been influenced by de Hooch's work, but the opposite is now believed.
Though he began to paint for wealthier patrons in Amsterdam, he lived in the poorest areas of the city. Around this time, de Hooch's painting style became coarser and darker in color, and his simple domestic scenes were replaced by highly-decorated images set in palatial halls and country villas. Most scholars believe that de Hooch's work after around 1670 became more stylized and deteriorated in quality. It may be that his distress (at age 38, with a young family) at the death of his wife (in 1667) affected his work. In any case, his health was now deteriorating, and he died in 1684 in an Amsterdam insane asylum, though the direct cause of his admission there is unknown.
Works
There are currently 84 paintings attributed to de Hooch:- Arrière-cour d'une maison hollandaise - 1650-1675, LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0017610.html - The Bedroom - c.1658-60 (canvas), in the National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Washington, D.C. http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=6935 - A Boy Handing a Woman a Basket in a Doorway - c.1660-63 aka A Boy Bringing Bread (canvas) in the Wallace CollectionWallace CollectionThe Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.tab.link&sp=10&sp=Sartist&sp=SelementList&sp=0&sp=0&sp=999&sp=SdetailView&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=SdetailBlockKey&sp=1 - Card Players - 1658 (canvas), in the Royal Collection, Windsor
- Card Players in an Opulent Interior (French: Joueurs de cartes dans un riche intérieur) - 1663-1665 (canvas), LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225625&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673225625&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500813&bmUID=1131360696161&bmLocale=en - Card Players at a Table - c.1670-74 (canvas)
- Children in a Doorway, with 'Colf' Sticks - c.1658-60 (panel)
- Couple in the Morning - 1665 (canvas)
- Couple with a Parrot - c.1675 (canvas), in the Wallraf-Richartz MuseumWallraf-Richartz MuseumThe Wallraf-Richartz-Museum is one of the three major museums in Cologne, Germany. It houses an art gallery with a collection of fine art from the medieval period to the early twentieth century...
, Cologne - A Couple with Musicians in a Hall - 1663-65 (canvas)
- Courtyard of a Dutch House - 1658 (Oil)
- The Courtyard of a House in DelftThe Courtyard of a House in DelftThe Courtyard of a House in Delft is a 1658 painting by Pieter de Hooch, an example of Dutch Golden Age painting.The work was the subject of a poem by Derek Mahon.-External links:...
- 1658 (canvas), in the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG835 - Courtyard with Lady and Serving Maid - c.1660-63 (canvas)
- Family Portrait on a Terrace - 1667 (canvas)
- Figures Drinking in a Courtyard - 1658 (Canvas on panel)
- Game of Skittles - c.1665 (Oil)
- Garden Scene with Woman Holding a Glass of Wine, and a Child - c.1658-60
- Guardroom with Smiling Officer, Fluteplayer, and Soldiers - ???? (panel)
- Interior of a Dutch House - c.1658 (Oil)
- Interior of the Burgomasters' Council Chamber in the Amsterdam Town Hall, with Visitors - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- Interior with a Young Couple - c. 1660-1665 (canvas), in the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=11&viewMode=1&item=14%2E40%2E613 - A Man Offering a Woman a Glass of Wine - c.1650-55 (panel)
- A Man Reading a Letter to Woman - c.1670-74 (canvas)
- A Man with Dead Birds, and Other Figures, in a Stable - c. 1655 (oil on oak), in the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG3881 - Merry Company - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- Merry Company with a Man and Two Women - c.1668-70 (canvas)
- A Merry Company with Two Men and Two Women - c.1657-58 (panel)
- The Merry Drinker - c.1650 (panel)
- The Minuet - ???? (canvas)
- Mother and Child with a Serving Woman Sweeping - c.1655-57 (panel)
- Mother and Child with a Serving Woman Sweeping - ???? (canvas)
- A Mother and Child with Its Head in Her Lap - c.1658-60 (canvas)
- Mother and Child with Schoolboy Descending a Stair - 1668
- Mother and Infant with Maidservant and a Child - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- Music Party in a Hall, A - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- A Musical Party in a Courtyard - 1677 (oil on canvas), in the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG3047 - Musical Party on a Terrace, with the Town Hall - c.1667 (canvas)
- Musical Party, A - 1674 (canvas)
- An Officer and a Woman Conversing, Soldier at the Window - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- A Party of Figures Around a Table - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- Paying the Hostess - mid-1670s (canvas), in the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=11&viewMode=1&item=58%2E144 - Portrait of a Family in a Courtyard in Delft - 1657-60 (Oil on canvas)
- Portrait of a Family Making Music - 1663 (canvas)
- Portrait of the Jacott-Hoppesack Family - c.1670 (canvas)
- Saint Peter Liberated from Prison - c.1650-55 (panel)
- Seated Couple with a Standing Woman in a Garden, A - c.1663-65 (canvas)
- Seated Soldier with a Standing Serving Woman, A - c.1652-55 (panel)
- Soldier with an Empty Glass and a Serving Woman, A - c.1650-55 (panel)
- Soldier, Woman, and Messenger - c.1654-57
- Soldiers and Serving Woman with Card Players - c.1665 (Oil on canvas)
- Soldiers Playing Cards - 1657-58 (panel)
- Soldiers with a Flute Player and a Serving Woman - ???? (panel)
- Sportsman and a Lady, A - 1684 (canvas)
- Standing Woman Holding an Infant, with a Woman Beside a Candle - ???? (canvas)
- Trac-Trac Players - c.1652-55 (Oil on panel)
- Two Couples Embracing - c.1673-75 (canvas)
- Two Soldiers and a Serving Woman with Trumpeter - c.1650-55 (panel)
- Two Soldiers and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard - c.1658-60 (canvas)
- Two Women and a Child in a Courtyard - c.1657-58 (Oil on panel)
- Two Women and a Man Making Music - 1667
- Two Women Beside a Linen Chest, with a Child - 1663 (canvas)
- Two Women in a Courtyard - c.1657-60 (canvas)
- Woman and a Young Man with a Letter, A - 1670 (canvas)
- Woman and Child in a Bleaching Ground, A - c.1657-59 (canvas)
- Woman and Child in an Interior - c.1658 (canvas)
- Woman and Child with a Parrot - 1673
- A Musical Conversation - 1674 Honolulu Academy of ArtsHonolulu Academy of ArtsThe Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
http://www.honoluluacademy.org/cmshaa/academy/index.aspx?id=933 - A Woman and her Maid in a Courtyard - c. 1660-1661 (canvas), in the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG794 - Woman Carrying a Bucket and Broom in a Courtyard - ???? (canvas)
- Woman Drinking with Soldiers (French: La Buveuse) - 1658, LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, Paris http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0017617.html - A Woman drinking with Two Men, and a Maidservant - 1658 (Oil on canvas), in the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG834 - Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Man and Serving Woman - ???? (canvas)
- Woman Lacing Her Bodice Beside a Cradle - c.1661-63 (canvas)
- Woman Nursing an Infant, with a Child and a Dog - c.1658-60 (canvas), in San Francisco
- A Woman Peeling Apples, with a Small ChildA Woman Peeling ApplesA Woman Peeling Apples is a painting by Dutch Master Pieter de Hooch. Depicting what was possibly a typical domestic scene from the time, it is an example of genre painting...
- c. 1663 (canvas), in the Wallace Collection, London http://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.tab.link&sp=10&sp=Sartist&sp=SelementList&sp=0&sp=0&sp=999&sp=SdetailView&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=SdetailBlockKey&sp=1 - A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy - c. 1660-1663, in the Getty CenterGetty CenterThe Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o852.html - Woman Preparing Vegetables - ???? (panel)
- Woman Reading a Letter by a Window - 1664 (canvas), in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
- Woman Reading a Letter, and a Man at a Window, A - c.1668-70 (Canvas on panel)
- Woman Reading, with a Child, A - c.1660-63 (canvas)
- Woman Receiving a Letter from a Man, A - c.1668-70 (Canvas on panel)
- Woman with a Baby in Her Lap, and a Small Child, A - 1658 (panel)
- Woman with a Basket in a Garden, A - c.1651 (canvas)
- Woman with a Lute and a Man with a Flute, A - ???? (canvas)
- Woman Weighing Coins - c.1664 (canvas) Kaiser Friedrich Museum-Verein, Berlin
- Wounded Man - c.1667 (canvas)