ELINGA, Pieter Janssens

The woman sweeping seen from behind is very similar to that in Elinga’s other interior in The Hermitage, St Petersburg.

The painting was attributed earlier to Pieter de Hooch.

The best of Elinga’s paintings can be confused with those of Pieter de Hooch, whom he imitated. But his composition is simpler, his line firmer, his shadows sharper, and, most tellingly, he avoided showing faces, whose depiction was often beyond him. Nevertheless, his works have the typical Delft quietness, and their minimalist details and action mean that today’s public can hear all the more clearly the rustle of a broom sweeping a stone floor and immerse themselves in the cozy world of a Dutch house.