The Courtyard of a House in Delft
Etching
Architectural composition with figures. A servant woman and child standing in a courtyard with bricks laid in a herringbone pattern. A passage on the left with a standing woman affords a view to the street beyond.
Faintly visible printed descriptive paragraph on the reverse
Date of creation : end of 19th century
Sheet : 34 x 27.2 cm (13" 3/8 x 10" 11/16)

After the original oil on canvas by Pieter de Hooch (Netherlands 1629-1684), National Gallery, London, UK. See also an etching plate, same subject, 34.5 x 24 cm, at The University of Melbourne, Australia, by Paul-Adolphe Rajon, French etcher, dated 1843-88.
Signed and dated at the base of the archway: P.D.H. 1658.
The inscription on the tablet above the arch - which was originally over the entrance to the Hieronymusdale Cloister in Delft - reads: “This is in Saint Jerome's vale, if you wish to repair to patience and meekness. For we must first descend if we wish to be raised. Year 1614". (Ref. National Gallery catalogue & Christies London, King Street 11 December 1992, Lot 104)