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| Jacob Appel, The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, c. 1710 |
Doll houses weren't meant to be toys for the children; you would find them in the possession of wealthy women. A hobby to show off to friends, women could accessorize their houses like they could accessorize their closet. The doll house was more of cabinet, with curtains or windowpanes to draw aside. From the outside they would look like a regular furniture piece rather than a miniature home as our contemporary tend to.
Perhaps the best part about the painting is that the actual doll house still exists and is safely housed in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The house, or cabinet, is so large, museum visitors use a step stool to examine all those delightful details that Appel was determined to portray. Because both the painting and house have survived the passage of time we can see the various changes made to the house since the creation of the painting. You can see them for yourself in person or (the easier option) through a virtual tour of the house thanks to the Rijksmuseum here.
That's pretty interesting actually. Doll houses were a posession? wonder how they went from a rich woman's hobby to a childrens toy...
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question! I know by the 19th century there were children's doll houses but I will have to find a book that shows the transition.
ReplyDeleteStunningly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat is incredibly cool! Thank you so much for sharing! I think old fashioned doll houses are the best with all the detail. I did not know that is was in a woman's possession rather than a child...thanks for the fact!
ReplyDeleteIf you liked that you would probably love the miniature 18th century palace and town called Mon Plaisir (My Pleasure) built for Princess Augusta Dorothea of Swartzburg-Arnstadt. Every strata of society, including the princess, her husband, nuns, cooks, monkeys etc are represented. Here's a good video of it
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hdN_krrYZ0
I hadn't heard of that before, thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteI've seen such a big dollhouse, also from the 18th century, but in Den Haag. There also was a step in front of it to see all the details. The doll house was so big!! And it was also a posession of a very welthy woman. I searched for a photo of it, but couldn't find any. The little dolls were so detailed an fine. I could just examine the dolls, furniture and other details for hours!
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat little peek into a point in history. Also an interesting & unique subject for such a lovely painting. The detail they had was amazing & that both the painting & the dollhouse survived, extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteMon Plaisir is amazing! The detail, down to the pattern in the wall paper & the little looms & loaves of bread, the miniature art, the kitchen with all it's pots & pans up on the walls, the hunt scene, all so very delightful! It would be easy to look at the real one for hours & hours, I can see why the ladies loved them so much, it would be hard not to. Thank you Comtesse Olympe de la Tour D'Auvergne for sharing that link.
Beautiful! There are some stunning dolls houses at the Museum of Childhood in London, well worth a visit. There are a few from the 18th century if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeletethat is so fascinating! I have always loved dollhouses. In fact I am impatiently waiting on my daughter to get old enough to appreciate them so I can build one like I always wanted as a kid ;)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that both the painting and real dollhouse survived!
I remember some years ago they used this dollhouse (not the portrait but the original) on a advertising poster for the Rijksmuseum. It had a title like 'Playstation 1'. They had a number of those like the portrait of a girl in a vest and helmet of a worker
ReplyDeleteToo funny!! Now that's good marketing!
ReplyDeleteit was excellent marketing, but of course... frowned upon
ReplyDelete