Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room
 | |
| Artist | Pieter de Hooch |
|---|---|
| Year | 1658 |
| Dimensions | 77.2 cm × 67.4 cm (30.4 in × 26.5 in) |
| Location | Royal Collection, London |
Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room (1658) is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch; it is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.
This painting by Hooch was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1908, who wrote; "254. THE CARD-PLAYERS. Sm. 48. ; de G. 41.[1] In the right-hand corner of a room with a wooden ceiling and a tiled floor a young lady and a gentleman are playing cards at a table, while two other gentlemen look on. The lady, seated on the right, is about to play a card from her hand. On her right stands a cavalier, holding a pipe in his right hand ; he wears a plumed hat and a doublet of light grey with pink ribbons ; a grey cloak hangs upon a peg to the right. To the right of the lady sits another cavalier with cards in his hand, who glances up at the gentleman. A third young man, bareheaded and seen in full light, sits, with his back half-turned to the spectator, at the right-hand front corner of the table, drinking a glass of wine ; he wears a black velvet jacket, yellow stockings, and high-heeled shoes. By the wall to the right is a couch with red velvet cushions. The room is flooded with light from a large window, divided into four compartments, behind the group. To the left an open door looks into a courtyard, through which a servant-girl comes with a jug and some pipes. Behind her is a house with a passage leading into a garden. This is one of the finest of the master's works. " The extraordinary luminous effect which pervades this picture renders it the admiration of every beholder. It is painted with singular mastery of hand, and exhibits throughout a consummate knowledge of the principles 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. 16 (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 ₤600), selling it to King George IV. in 1826.
Now in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, No. 22 in the 1885 catalogue."[2]
References
- ↑ Comparative table of catalog entries between John Smith's first Catalogue raisonné of Hooch and Hofstede de Groot's first list of Hooch paintings published in Oud Holland
- ↑ entry 254 for The Card-Players in Hofstede de Groot, 1908
- Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room on Royal Collection website for accession number RCIN 405951