IMPORTANT PAINTINGS

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20470, 13 February 1932, Page 9

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS

|OLD; MASTERS ON " tfIEW.. Two paintings of exceptional- quality, both' ofiginals by old masters whose work is rarely met with in New Zealand, are at present to be seen at McCormick's Art Gallery in Victoria square. They are ''The. Physician/' by Pieter do Hooch (1643); and "Portrait of a Boy" by Sir r Antonio Mora (1512t1568).' Both pointings were recently sent to* London for 'examination by experts, who have declared their ■ authenticity, and they are now at the gallery for a short period so that students and art-lovers-may have an opportunity of seeing them. They are not for sale. The de Hooch (or Hooge) has the characteristic stillness .of the Dutch school of tho period. The .figures of the physician and his woman patient .with hei" child are carefully drawn, and painted with smoothness of texture, and are placed so ''that a clear hard light falls on them. It is a picture that appeals the more it is studied. The London experts declare that under normal conditions it would bring a high price in the salerooms. In 1928 do Hooch's "Interior of a Kitchen" brought £BOOO in London. The "Portrait of a Boy" delights at first sight by the fact that it is alive. It has an atmosphere of spontaneity, of expressiveness, that is unexpected, and whoever sees it understands why Sir Antonio More was the favourite Court painter of his day. He was particularly esteemed by the Emperor Charles V., who sent him to the Court of Portugal to paint the portrait of the King and Queen arid their daughter, who afterwards became the Queen of SpainMost of the princes of Europe employed him, but at no Courts was he more welcome than in those of England and Spain. In England ho was highly honoured by Queen Mary,, and on his return to Spain he became Court painter to King Philip 11.