Children with a Mousetrap

Dou’s compositional innovation was the “niche” painting, which is represented by this painting by Domenicus van Tol. The window-ledge defines the foreground and marks the entrance into the virtual world of the painting, while the potted plant in front of it seems to protrude into the viewer’s own space. This trompe-l’oeil effect is further enhanced by the arrangement of the striped curtain, fixed inside the room but draped outside the window frame.