Figure in un cortile dietro una casa

Pieter de Hooch made his name in Delft painting exactly this, ordinary people in a sunlit back garden, every brick and shadow set down with almost architectural care. Look for the woman squeezing a lemon into her glass while the man beside her leans in, trying to catch her eye. To a Dutch viewer in the 1660s that lemon carried a hint. Its sourness was thought to cool an overheated infatuation, so the small gesture quietly comments on his attention. Around them two maids keep the household running, one pouring, one scrubbing a copper kettle. By this point de Hooch had traded Delft for Amsterdam, and the figures here, well dressed and idle, look almost like tavern company set down in a respectable courtyard.