Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/570

 54 6 PIETER DE HOOCH SECT. of hand, and exhibits throughout a consummate knowledge of the prin- ciples of art " (Sm.). Signed and dated 1658 ; canvas, 30 inches by 25 J inches. Mentioned by Waagen (ii. n). Exhibited in the British Gallery in 1826 and 1827. Sales. Is. Walraven, Amsterdam, October 14, 1763 (Terwesten, p. 504), No. 1 6 (480 florins, Van der Land). Nic. Doekscheer, Amsterdam, September 9, 1789 (500 florins, Van der Schley). P. N. Quarles van Ufford, Amsterdam, October 19, 1818 (2270 florins, Roos). J. Hulswit, Amsterdam, October 28, 1822 (4500 florins). Formerly in the Pourtales collection, according to Seguier ; see catalogue of the Buckingham Palace collection. In the collection of Baron Mecklenburg, from whom Sm. bought it in 1825 (for 15,000 francs or j6oo), selling it to King George IV. in 1826. Now in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, No. 22 in the 1885 catalogue. 255. THE LADY PLAYING CARDS. Sm. 5 ; de G. 69.- To the left, beside a pillared fireplace in which a fire is burning, sits a lady playing cards with a gentleman. With a smile of satisfaction she shows several aces to a handsome cavalier who stands beside her, wearing a sword and a slouch-hat, and holding a glass of wine in his left hand. Near the back wall of the room, which is hung with gilt leather, is a table covered with a Persian carpet j upon it are a bottle, a glass, and a dish of lemons. A mirror hangs on the wall above. To the right and left are high windows ; a curtain is drawn over the left-hand window, while at the other stand two lovers. A boy with a bottle in his hand enters from a door on the right, which leads into an adjoining room. On the wall above the door hang two portraits. "This picture, although possessing less of that brilliant effect of light, so much admired in his works, is nevertheless an example of great beauty, both in its harmony of colour and deceptive effects " (Sm.). [Compare 74.] Signed, to the left, on a pillar, " P D HOOCH " ; canvas, 26^ inches by 30^ inches. A copy of this picture was in the Count A. de Festetics' sale, in Amsterdam, January 22, 1884, No. 69 ; and afterwards in that of Joseph Ruston, London, May 21, 1898, No. 75 signed, and measuring 25 inches by 29^ inches. Sales. Wassenaar van Obdam, at The Hague, 1750 (according to the Louvre catalogue, though it is not mentioned by Hoet, ii. pp. 290, 405). Paillet, Paris, 1777 (680 francs). Claude Tolozan, Paris, 1801 (1350 francs). Acquired for the Musee Napoleon. Now in the Louvre, Paris, No. 2415 in the 1902 catalogue. 256. THE CARD-PLAYERS. Sm. 33 ; de G. 60. The company consists of three ladies and three gentlemen, disposed round a table covered with a Turkey carpet. One lady, wearing a red gown and a lace kerchief, sits on the right, with her back to a window, in the act of drawing a card