JOHANN BERNARD DE HOOG
Dutch, 1866-1943
Interior Scene of a Mother and Daughter Feeding the Baby
Oil on canvas
Signed Bernard de Hoog lower right
Label to the reverse for Carson Pirie Scott & Co as supplying the frame
38 3/8" H x 32 3/8" W [frame]
29 1/2" H x 23 5/8" W [canvas]
ref. 412IWV13A
This intimate interior scene centers on a quiet domestic moment between a seated woman and two young children. Light enters from the left, falling obliquely across the figures and table, and is partially obstructed by the architecture of the room and the bodies themselves. De Hoog uses this controlled illumination to establish a gentle hierarchy of focus, drawing attention to the interaction between mother and child while allowing the surrounding space to remain subdued and atmospheric.
The composition is deliberately restrained. A simple table, a chair, and a wicker cradle define the setting, suggesting a modest household without overt sentimentality. The figures are arranged with a natural ease, the mother’s posture relaxed yet attentive as she tends to the infant on her lap. The second child, seen from behind, anchors the foreground and reinforces the sense of an observed, unposed moment.
Paint handling is confident and direct. De Hoog employs a loaded brush with passages of medium impasto, particularly in the figures and textiles, while allowing thinner, more fluid passages in the background. Layers are worked wet into wet, permitting darker underpainting to remain visible beneath lighter tones. This approach gives the surface a quiet vitality without dissolving form, maintaining a balance between painterly execution and descriptive clarity. The palette is warm and earthy, with muted ochres, browns, and soft whites enlivened by subtle accents of color.
The painting reflects de Hoog’s sustained interest in interior genre scenes drawn from everyday life. Rather than idealizing the setting, he presents it with candor and restraint, emphasizing attentiveness, routine, and familial closeness. The result is a work that feels observational rather than theatrical, grounded in lived experience.
The painting is signed lower right “Bernard de Hoog” and is presented in a carved giltwood frame of the period, whose richness provides a formal counterpoint to the simplicity of the subject.
BERNARD DE HOOG
Bernard de Hoog was born in Amsterdam in 1866. Although his early interest in art was initially discouraged, he began his professional life working in a merchant’s office, where his drawing abilities were noticed and encouraged. This early support led him to formal study, first with a drawing master and later at the Quellinus School in Amsterdam, aided by a royal subsidy. During this period, he studied under Johann Friedrich Hulk Sr. and worked with the animal painter Jan van Essen.
De Hoog was strongly influenced by the Hague School, particularly its emphasis on realism, tonal restraint, and the careful observation of everyday life. He also studied the work of earlier Dutch masters, including Pieter de Hooch and Frans Hals, whose interior scenes and treatment of light informed his own approach.
From the late nineteenth century onward, de Hoog exhibited widely in the Netherlands and developed an international market, with his works finding audiences in England, Canada, and the United States. His paintings entered the secondary market during his lifetime, reflecting steady demand for his work.
Throughout his career, de Hoog remained focused on interior genre scenes, frequently depicting mothers and children within modest domestic settings. His work avoids overt romanticization, instead emphasizing attentiveness, labor, and quiet interpersonal connection. Stylistically, his paintings combine realist foundations with a looseness of brushwork and surface handling that, at times, approaches Impressionistic practice, particularly in his treatment of light and texture.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. VII, Gründ, 2006, p. 273-74
Condition Report:
Professionally cleaned and sealed in traditional Dammar varnish. Only faint craquelure throughout with a stable ground layer over the original unlined linen. Retains its original stretcher, the canvas presenting tight and smooth. Very minor rubbing to the extreme edges of the painting. Under UV examination, no observed restoration or old damage. Frame is period and probably original, areas of rebuilding and restoration as well as polychrome retouch. A very fine presentation, ready to hang.
