Lot 1052 Dα

A young lady with blonde hair sits at a vanity looking at her reflection in the mirror whilst a maid adjusts the ribbons in her hair. A valuable fur-trimmed blue coat is lain on the table before her. In the background we see a pitcher and a white cloth, and a painting hangs on the wall. This work by Simon Kick was painted in Delft in the 1640s, and is among the earliest depictions of a woman at her toilette in 17th century Holland (cf. RKD no. 1001251236). Kick's composition appears to have influenced those of Jan Steen and Gerard Ter Borch, who popularised this motif in the second half of the 17th century. The piece can be compared to a work by Ter Borch dated to around 1650 in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. no. 17.190.10). Kick painted a further two versions of this composition: One with a bare table and a door in the background (formerly De Boer, Amsterdam, 1929) and another version without the fur coat and with a different painting on the wall (Van Hengel Collection, Arnheim, 1948).