Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/511

 iv PIETER DE HOOCH 487 35. TEACHING THE CHILD TO WALK. Sm. 22; deG. 62. In the left-hand corner of a room sits a woman, almost directly facing the spectator. She wears an orange-coloured dress and has a basket of apples on her lap, and a dish of peeled apples on a chair beside her. On the right a servant-girl, with skirt tucked up, is bringing a child in leading-strings. The child stretches its hands towards an apple which the mother holds out. Behind the servant -girl is a fireplace with a pilaster worked in delicate relief; upon the chimney-piece are Chinese porcelain vases, and above it hangs a picture. In the left foreground, below a half-opened window, is a table with an Oriental carpet, upon which are a mug on a tray, and a glass. This part of the room with the lower corner of the open window is reflected in a mirror, which hangs above the woman's head on a wall illumined with yellow light. It is a genuine, though not a very well preserved, picture of the later years of his best period. Signed to the left on the window-frame " P de hooch " ; canvas, 26| inches by 24 inches. Described by Parthey, 1863 (i. 622). Bought in 1811 (for 700 thalers) according to the Ltitzschena catalogue. The picture described by Sm., measuring 24 inches by 20 inches, was in the sale of M. de Sereville, Paris, January 21, 1812 (2000 francs, bought in). Now in the collection of the Freiherr Speck von Sternburg, in Liitzschena, No. 204 in the 1889 catalogue. Published in the portfolio of the Photo- graphische Gesellschaft, 1904, No. 31. 36. WOMAN PREPARING VEGETABLES, WITH A CHILD. Sm. 62 ; de G. 68. In the right foreground of a homely kitchen sits a woman cutting vegetables in a tub which stands on a low table. To the left of it is a basket, and somewhat nearer the middle of the picture is a pail. The woman is looking at a little girl beside her who is playing with a shovel-handle and a ball. In the right background, through an open door, a winding staircase leads to the upper floor. Facing the spectator is a door, above and beside which are windows. Through the door is seen a woman crossing a small tiled yard towards a low building with a tiled roof. The picture is of the artist's best period. Signed "P D Hooch" ; panel, 24 inches by 18^ inches. Bought by Denon from the dealer La Fontaine, who exported it from Holland. In the Musee Napoleon. Now in the Louvre, No. 2414 in the 1902 catalogue. 37. WOMAN AND SERVANT-GIRL. In an interior sits a lady, who lays her needlework aside to examine some fish which a servant- girl shows her. A pointer lies at her feet ; to her left is a work-basket. It is a good picture ; the tone is warm and luminous. Canvas, 24 inches by i8| inches. Sale. Paris, December 1893 (680 francs, F. Kleinberger of Paris). 38. WOMAN PEELING PEARS, WITH A CHILD AND A SERVANT-GIRL. Sm. 14. A woman sits beside a fireplace near