Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/316

 292 GABRIEL METSU SECT. In the collection of Madame de Haan, Amsterdam, 1842 (Sm.). Sales. David Bierens, Amsterdam, November 15, 1881, No. 12 (590 florins). E. Secretan, Paris, July I, 1889, No. 143. In the possession of the dealer Ch. Sedelmeyer, Paris, 1898 catalogue, No. 90. Now in the collection of Lord Iveagh, London. 135. A FAMILY AT TABLE (or, The Refection). Sm. Suppl. 32. A family are assembled in a handsomely furnished dining-room with a window to the left and a fireplace. A lady, in a yellow dress and a green velvet jacket trimmed with ermine, sits at a table covered with a Turkey carpet and a white cloth, on which are a roast fowl, a large peacock pasty, and other things. A youth in light brown offers her a dish of venison, which she declines. In the foreground a girl in a yellow dress and white apron sits on a stool, feeding a dog. To the right is a cat, near a silver dish on the floor. A second youth pours out wine, and a maid-servant carries away two dishes. At the back is a passage into an adjoining room, where there is a bed with blue curtains. It is a genuine work, but in a bad condition ; most of it has faded into the background. Yet Sm. thought it "a most admirable work of art." Canvas, 24 inches by 26J inches. Purchased by the Empress Catherine II. Now in the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 88 1. 136. A YOUNG LADY AT BREAKFAST (or, The Re- fection). Sm. 13. A young lady, in a grey dress, light brown jacket, and blue apron, with white chemisette and cap, sits to the right at a table with a white cloth, upon which are a plate and a white earthenware jug. With her left hand she puts back on the plate a cake, a piece of which she has cut off and holds in her right. The figure is seen at half-length. The catalogue wrongly casts doubt on its authenticity. The picture has been overcleaned and is not important, but it is entirely genuine. It was considered as such in well-known eighteenth-century collections; only since 1863 has any one cast doubt upon it. Signed in full at the top ; panel, 9^ inches by 8 inches. Pendant to the "Lady at the Harpsichord," in the Dutuit collection (161). Described by Descamps in Julienne's collection. Engraved in the " Choiseul Gallery." Sales. Julienne, Paris, March 30, 1767 (1400 francs, with pendant). Due de Choiseul, Paris, April 6, 1772 (2001 francs, with pendant). Prince de Conti, Paris, April 8, 1777 (699 francs, for the Hermitage). Now in the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 893. 137. A Lady and a Burgomaster at Table. Sm. 7. A maid- servant waits upon them with refreshments. The Orleans catalogue regards this as an illustration of a scandalous anecdote, according to which the lady was employed by English agents to procure the burgomaster's signature to a treaty between England and Holland in 1666. 20 inches by 18 inches. In the collection of the Due d'Orleans in 1 749.