Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/403

 in GERARD DOU 379 io8rf. The Lace-Maker. A young woman sits with her work in her lap at a table, and holds a wine-glass in her left hand. On the right a boy enters at the open door. Copper, 1 1 inches by 8 inches. Sale. D'Eve and others, Cologne, March 20, 1899, No. 39. 109. THE LACE-MAKER. A woman working lace sits by the hearth, in which hangs a kettle. Behind her chair are a chest, a basket, broom, and other things. The table is covered with a blue cloth, the colour of which dominates the composition. On the table are a mortar, kettle, and other objects. Catalogued as by D. van Tol, but probably an early work by Dou. Panel, 14^ inches by i8| inches. Sale. (The second) Raedt van Oldenbarnevelt, Amsterdam, April 15, 1902, No. 189 (400 florins). 1 10. THE YOUNG MOTHER. Sm. 90 ; M. 305. At a window to the left of a lofty room, a young woman sits with her body turned three-quarters right and her head facing the spectator. On her lap are a small pillow and a garment which she is cutting with scissors. In front of her to the right is an infant's cradle. A young girl kneeling behind it has pulled off the coverlet to look at the child. The window is open, and the light falls on the group and on the accessories heaped up on either side. On the left are the woman's work-basket and an arm-chair j a pewter pot and a pail stand on the window seat. In the right foreground are a lantern, pot, broom, some turnips, a wicker basket, and a pail with a fish on it ; farther back on a table are a cask, a dead fowl, a cabbage, and a candlestick j above the table hangs a dead hare. Behind the woman and the cradle is a pillar decorated with cupids in relief; on it hang a cage, a sword, and a cloak. A staircase winds round the pillar and leads to a gallery, from which hangs a chandelier. Near the staircase is a bookcase with a globe on it. Through an archway is seen a second room ; here a woman is reading, while another hangs a kettle over the fire. The window bears the arms of the Adrichem family. This in its quiet and harmonious colouring is one of Dou's best pictures. Unfortu- nately the values of some of the bluish-green tones have changed through lapse of time. " The second best picture among the artist's works " (Sm.) ; second to "The gouty Woman " in the Louvre (66). Signed in full on the window, and dated 1658. At the bottom are two inventory numbers, that on the left being 15 or 75, that on the right 501. On the back is the seal of Johan Willem Friso of Nassau (died 1711). Panel, 29 inches by 22 inches; rounded at top. See Martin, ch. ii. Perhaps bought from the De Bye collection, Leyden, by the Dutch East India Company. Given to King Charles II. of England, 1660. Taken by King William III. to the Castle of Loo (see 1763 Inventory, No. 86). In the collection of William V., 1763 (see 1763 Inventory, No. i : Ter- westen, p. 695).