Artwork
A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer
A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Jacob Ochtervelt. It dates from 1663 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right on the floor: J. Ochtervelt f. / 1663
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting depicts figures within an interior setting, consistent with the artist's genre focus during the Dutch Golden Age.
Jacob Ochtervelt executed A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer in 1663 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 81.5 cm in height and 66.8 cm in width. The painting depicts figures within an interior setting, consistent with the artist's genre focus during the Dutch Golden Age.
The medium and dimensions are recorded in the National Gallery of Art's holdings, where the piece is currently located.
History & Provenance
Jacob Ochtervelt completed this oil on canvas in 1663. The work's documented history begins with Thomas Theodore Cremer in Rotterdam, remaining in his estate until a sale at his residence in April 1816. It subsequently entered the collection of Sérafin Lambert Louis Malfait in Lille before passing to Charles Piérard of Valenciennes.
Following Piérard's death, the painting was auctioned in Paris in March 1860, and later that same year appeared in another Parisian estate sale under the Comte de M.
After disappearing from public records for over a century, the piece was acquired by a private European collector around 1982. It resurfaced at a Sotheby's auction in New York on 20 January 2014, lot 38, after which it was handled by the London dealer Johnny Van Haeften. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., purchased the work in September 2015, where it is accessioned as 2015.9.1. The painting has not been recorded in major temporary exhibitions in the Gallery's collection records.
Overview
Jacob Ochtervelt's 1663 oil on canvas, A Nurse and a Child in an Elegant Foyer, presents a detailed genre scene set within a grand domestic interior. The painting captures a seemingly ordinary moment involving multiple figures, including a nurse, children, and other adults, accompanied by a dog. This work exemplifies the artist's focus on depicting daily life in affluent Dutch households, combining narrative elements with architectural precision.
Subject & Meaning
The central focus is a nurse, identifiable by her white cap and red apron, gently holding the hand of a young girl in a white dress adorned with blue ribbons, who reaches for a hat. In the background, a boy engages with another woman, while a third figure carries a bundle. The inclusion of a dog in the foreground adds a touch of everyday realism, contrasting with the opulence of the foyer and grounding the scene in human interaction.
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