Woman and Child with Serving Maid

The paintings by this artist, who worked in both Delft and Amsterdam, repeatedly demonstrate his interest in depicting exactly defined spaces. De Hooch was part of an artistic movement that was later called the Delftschool: another member was Johannes Vermeer, three years younger than de Hooch and more prominent today. This type of usually small format painting of an interior became a fixed part of the local artistic repertoire. There is also a characteristic manner of dealing with light: both de Hooch and Vermeer used soft illumination, bathing their paintings in a gentle, flattering light. De Hooch painted the present work during his time in Amsterdam (starting in 1660), where he specialised in depicting the style of home furnishings and life typical of the city’s well-situated citizens. Despite the presence of a serving maid, the elegantly clad mother is caring personally for her infant; she does not waste money on a wet-nurse. Across the spotless tile floor, we look into a second room at the back, then through the half-open door to a house on a canal and the city beyond. A fire is burning on the hearth, providing a colourful accent that recurs in the infant’s clothing and the sunlit view. In a similarly rhythmic fashion, the red of the fabric drying on the hearth is repeated at several points in the picture, giving the composition a balance of colour. This scene makes clear the understanding of (ideal) roles at the time: attentive childcare and a well-run household are a woman’s province. Thus the opening to the city, which makes sense from a compositional point of view, also has symbolic character: the outside world is a man’s domain, but the female sphere always remains open to him. © Cäcilia Bischoff, Masterpieces of the Picture Gallery. A Brief Guide to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 2010