View of a Corridor by Samuel van Hoogstraten

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View of a Corridor by Samuel van Hoogstraten

Painting NameView of a Corridor
Painter NameSamuel van Hoogstraten
Completion Date1662
Size140 x 260 cm (4' 7.12" x 8' 6.36")
TechniqueOil
MaterialCanvas
Current LocationPrivate collection

Dutch painter from 17th century, Samuel van Hoogstraten has depicted one of his contemporary Dutch houses with great details. He has tried to duplicate the scene on his canvas with preciseness.

On the very first glance we recognize the corridor as a part of a big mansion or palace. Apart from the living things in the painting, everything else feels very real as there is no artistic glorification or add-ons to the scene. The long corridor crossing through three rooms portrays three different situations in the same scene.

The first room in the foreground consisting two animals and a bird suggests maybe the owner of the house is a great animal-lover and doesn’t mind to keep animals in the house. He hasn’t even closed the door of the parrot’s cage to let it freely fly. The dappled dog looks alert as if it is guarding the way, so it would be difficult for any intruder to reach to the inner rooms. The parrot at the top of the painting is sitting on open door of the cage. Means there is no captivity for that poor thing. And the cat near the door is standing silently and more looks like she is listening to the humans chatting in the next room.


The next room consisting two people – a lady and a gentleman- sitting around a table probably talking or taking meal are the main substance of the scene but artist have back dropped it intentionally to give us an another angel of the happening. The reflection of the person in the mirror doesn’t quite clarify the situation much.

The last room with red and black tiles seems empty from the perspective. Here in this house we can see a little glimpse of the modernized house where the floor is made of tiles. Though, the busts over the first door are very rare these days. All in all, the skilled painter of the architecture has achieved which is ought to be.

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