Lot 104 Dα

The present work was once part of the collection of the Netherlandish soap manufacturer Hugo Andriesse and his wife Elisabeth, who lived together in Antwerp. The collection, which had been deposited with the Brussels Museum of Art and History in the Autumn of 1939, was confiscated by the Nazis in 1941 and brought to Paris. Although most of the works could be returned to Mrs Andriesse after the war, the whereabouts of four works - including "The Little Lace Maker" - remained unknown. However, following the rediscovery of this piece in a German private collection, Lempertz were able to reach a just and fair agreement between the current owners and the heirs of Hugo and Elisabeth Andriesse according to the principles of the Washington Conference.
This image of a young lace maker being chided by her mother is a charming and typical product of the Leiden "fijnschilder" Pieter van Slingelandt. The artist was a pupil of Gerard Dou, but according to Hofstede de Groot he "even exceeded his careful, smooth application of paint".