Lot 179: A card game in a courtyard

Maerten Stoop (Rotterdam c. 1620-1647 Utrecht)
A card game in a courtyard
signed 'MSt..p' (lower left)
oil on panel, oval, stamped on the reverse with the panel maker's mark 'SvM' (in monogram)
18 1/8 x 24¼ in. (46 x 62.6 cm.)

with M. & G. Segal, Basel, 1980.

Part of a tradition of 'Guard Room' scenes, this oval panel depicts a pair of soldiers playing cards with a flamboyantly dressed woman, while a third emerges from the adjacent door. Stoop's attention to detail plays itself out in an immaculately crafted paint surface; details such as the projecting latches of the opened clothes-chest demonstrate the consummate precision of his brush.

Sometimes identified as the brother of Dirck Stoop ( c . 1618-1681), Maerten painted battle pictures and suggestive conversation scenes. He is often linked with Nicolaes Knupfer (1603-1655) on stylistic grounds; the two were contemporaries in their studies at the artist's guild in Utrecht. Although Maerten attained considerable skill in crafting his jewel-like paintings, the tragically short-lived painter left only a few known works; this picture is a rare example of his talent at its best.