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Esaias Boursse

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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ESAIAS BOURSSE (1630-1673), Dutch painter, was born in Amsterdam. He was a follower of Pieter de Hooch, in whose manner he worked for many years in his native town; then he took service with the Dutch East India Company, and died on a sea voyage. His paintings are exceedingly rare, perhaps because, in spite of their greater freedom and breadth, many of them pass under the names of Vermeer of Delft and Pieter de Hooch. Two of the paintings ascribed to the latter (one bears the false signature) at the Ryks museum in Amsterdam, are now recognized as being the work of Boursse. His subjects are interiors with figures, painted with great precision and with exquisite quality of colour. The Wallace collection has his masterpiece, an interior with a woman and a child in a cradle, almost as brilliant as on the day it was painted, and reflecting something of the feeling of Rembrandt, by whom he was influenced. Other important examples are at the Ryks museum and at Aix-la-Chapelle. Boursse's "Boy blowing Soap Bubbles," in the Berlin museum, was until lately attributed to Vermeer of Delft. More than one picture bearing the false signature of Boursse have been publicly shown of late years.