Dutch Interior with Woman Sewing

interior

The painting shows a grubby room with a seamstress. Working by a mantelpiece whose racks hold faience plates, she is too busy and too old to care for the lonely, neglected little girl, who stares vacantly at the spectator.

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About the Artist

Esaias Boursse

1631 – 1672

Dutch painter, active mainly in his native Amsterdam. He joined the Dutch East India Company in 1661 and made two voyages to the Indies, on the second of which he died at sea. His few surviving paintings include some exquisite interior scenes that invite comparison with Vermeer because of their tranquil beauty and subtle colour harmonies.

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