A Woman and a Maid in a Courtyard

Pieter de Hooch painted A Woman and a Maid in a Courtyard, showing a mistress and servant in a typical Dutch brick courtyard. Sunlight falls across the geometric paving stones, creating the spatial effects that define De Hooch's finest work. The scene captures the orderly rhythm of Dutch household life.

De Hooch excelled at depicting transitions between interior and exterior spaces. His courtyards, with their careful brick patterns and filtered light, became his signature subject during his most productive years in Delft.