A Man with Dead Birds and Other Figures in a Stable

Artist: Pieter De Hooch (Dutch, 1629 - 1684)

Original Dimensions: 21 1/8" x 19 5/8"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (About 1655) "A dog sniffs at a heap of dead birds on the floor, but the focus of this quiet scene seems to be on the young woman cradling her baby. She looks down at the creatures, her expression shuttered. The picture was originally quite different: beneath the birds, which were added during the nineteenth century, is the figure of a wounded man, probably a soldier. A series of rectangles – some open, some closed – define the space and give a glimpse of the fascination and skill in the use of perspective that became central to de Hooch’s work. On the right, clothes draped over a wooden plank catch the light, giving depth to the shadowy area behind it. To the left, sketchily painted objects hang on another wooden half wall; behind them, a web of narrow beams angle upwards to give height to the ceiling overhead." - (National Gallery of Art, London)