Structures of Space and Society in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Interior

This dissertation concerns the relation between certain pictorial problems and social issues in 17th-century Dutch painting. My focus is on the pierced space or vista, which extends the pictorial space into a back room or to the outdoors, a compositional device frequently used by Dutch artists to organize their images of social and domestic life. By setting up a relation between background and foreground, the vista functions as both compositional device and visual commentary. The dissertation concentrates on three artists, all painting in the 1650's and 60's, who used the articulation of space to explore certain social and domestic issues dominant in their culture. The first chapter concerns Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693), who exploits the forms of domestic architecture to visualize domestic relationships, particularly between women of different classes. I consider the structure and function of rooms, and their social ramifications, and compare Maes' manipulation of the architectural environment to other recreations of the house such as perspective-boxes and dollhouses. I then discuss similar works by other artists who use the motif of the back room to juxtapose and categorize different forms of feminine activity. The second chapter deals with the work of Pieter De Hooch (1629-1684), who approaches the demarcation of space as a means of articulating the relationship between public and private life. I discuss his work in relation to other images combining interiors and exteriors: city views, depictions of vendors, and religious scenes of rejection and acceptance. I also refer to the cultural symbolism of the house and the doorway, invoking folk traditions, the work of other artists, and the European literary conceit of domestic celebration. The third chapter concerns the allegorical pictures of Gerard Dou (1613-1675). For Dou, the vista provides a gloss on the figure in the foreground. By playing on the confusion between depicted and "actual" space, Dou asserts his authority as a master of representation. I compare Dou's treatment of space to stage design, a formulaic architectural structure which hierarchically subdivides human action for rhetorical effect, and to the work of other Dutch artists who employ the ancillary space as a form of rhetorical "aside."