Artists Illustrating Boys' Fashions: Pieter de Hooch (Dutch, (1629-84)



Figure 1.-- The painting here is "Woman Handing a Jug to a Child (The Pantry)". It was painted about 1660. Note that the child's gender is not specified. It could be a unbreeched boy. We can see ribbons hanging from shoulders. These are symbolic of leading strings, which suggests to us that the child is a girl. Amsterdam: Rijkmuseum.

Pieter de Hooch was born in Rotterdam during 1629. He was one of the greatest of the Ductch 17th century genre painters. The genre paintings depict many children and the clothing they wore. He is associated with the Delft school. He is especially noted for his donestic interior scenes and dramatic use of life. He also painted exteriors. Many are quiet, undramatic and unsentimental depictions of Duch daily life, a wonderful glimse into the 17th century. He was a contemporary of Vermeer.

Parents


Childhood


Education


Training

Hooch trained underv Claes Berchem at Haarlem.

Career

He was one of the greatest of the Ductch 17th century genre painters. He is associated with the Delft school. Beginning in 1653 he was supported by Justus de Grange. Hooch lived in Delft, The Hague, and Leiden. He became a member of the painters' guild at Delft in 1654. Many of his best works were done between about 1655 and 1663 while de Hooch was living in Delft. He is by 1687 in Amsterdam.

Body of Work

De Hooch is especially noted for his donestic interior scenes and dramatic use of life--often in sharp contrast to quiet scenes painted. He also painted exteriors. He rarely painted imdividual portraits, althogh some of his works are in effect group porttaits. He was a contemporary of Vermeer, living in Delft for a period at the same time. Hooch's work is in some ways similar to Vermeer, but not as personal and usually more remote in space and emotion. Hooch generally painted small groups, often two or three individuals going about the unremarkable activities of daily life. His interiors are unclutered and brought to life by outside light filtering through windows and doors. While Hoochb wasc fixated on working with light and its affect on interior surfaces, to the social historian it is the humble activities going on in these Dutch homes and the depicti0ns of the ordinary clothing of the sturdy Dutch bourgeoisie that is of graet interest.

Clothing

De Hooch's genre paintings depict many children and the clothing they wore. The painting here is "Woman Handing a Jug to a Child (The Pantry)". It was painted about 1660. Note that the child's gender is not specified. It could be a unbreeched boy. We can see ribbons hanging from shoulders. These are symbolic of leading strings, which suggests to us that the child is not an adult. One of our readers says, however, "The ribbons were not exclusive to girls. Because when children wore their skirts longer, they also began wearing longer ribbons. When a boy was had his ribbons removed when breeched is an open question. The child here looks to be 3-4 years old. Whether the child is a boy or girl is difficult to know because it is hard to perceive if the dress is buttoned at front (for boys) or at back (as for girls). Perhaps one way to identify the gender of the child is th cap, but I am not sure yet what the gender connotations of the cap are."

Assessment

De Hooch's paintings are quiet, undramatic and unsentimental depictions of Duch daily life, a wonderful glimse into the 17th century. A reader writes, "How beautiful this painting! Look at the expression on the mother's face. A day to day interaction between a loving mother and a child. Something we can easily understand today despite the passage of centuries because it is a universal feeling of mothering through the ages."









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Created: July 24, 2003
Last updated: July 27, 2003