This Perspective View with a Woman Reading a Letter perfectly illustrates van Hoogstraten’s technical mastery in architectural perspective.
The artist orchestrates a learned composition where the monumental arcade in the foreground frames a sequence of nested spaces. The classical colonnade, adorned with antique sculptures, guides our gaze toward the inner courtyard where typically Dutch brick architecture unfolds. At the center, a lady in a golden and white dress reads a letter, while a small dog stares at us in the foreground. This domestic scene is set within palatial décor where every detail—ornate balustrade, statues, geometric paving—testifies to the artist’s virtuosity. Van Hoogstraten demonstrates here his capacity to create striking depth effects, transforming painting into a true window opening onto an idealized architectural world, characteristic of 17th-century Dutch art.
Further information
- Perspective View with a Woman Reading a Letter, by Samuel van Hoogstraten, 1670
- 214 x 179 cm, oil on canvas
- Mauritshuis, The Hague, not on display
- https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/66-perspective-view-with-a-woman-reading-a-letter
Painter, theorist, and writer, Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678) embodies the erudite spirit of the Dutch Golden Age. A pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam between 1642 and 1648, he quickly developed his own style, specializing in complex architectural compositions and trompe-l’œil effects. His travels to Vienna, Rome, and London enriched his artistic vision. Van Hoogstraten particularly excelled in the art of perspective, creating works where architecture becomes the true protagonist. His treatise “Inleyding tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst” (Introduction to the High School of Painting) constitutes one of the most important theoretical texts on painting of his era, revealing an artist as concerned with practice as with aesthetic reflection.
