Focus on this artwork and analyze the Mauritshuis replica.
An autograph replica, said to be of lower quality, is present in the Mauritshuis, The Hague. The primary difference in composition between the two works lies in the absence of the seated soldier. However, X-rays reveal the soldier's initial presence, indicating that it was later painted over by another hand. The cuirass worn by this soldier corresponds to those found in other De Hooch paintings from the same period, including 'A Soldier Paying a Hostess', dated 1658.The provenance of the replica is also unknown before the 1820's, with this painting titled differently as 'A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard', and its first noted appearance as a sale by the John Smith Gallery, in London for 300 pounds in 1822, ending up in the Mauritshuis' collection by 1947.Multiple copies of this painting existed, including an old copy in a Dutch dealer's possession in 1903.
replica Courtyard Mauritshuis A Soldier Paying a Hostess The Hague A Man Smoking and a Woman Drinking in a Courtyard London cuirass X-rays X-ray