Gabriel Metsu’s a View into a Hall

Gabriel Metsu’s A View into a Hall, a Jester, Girl and her Dog, is a 26.6 inch by 20 inch,

oil on canvas painting that was made in the Netherlands in 1667. It has a thick, dark brown frame, that holds the painting with patterned details on the borders. The artwork shows a girl at the front door watching or performing tricks on the dog with the jester peeking from behind. It also displays the interior space behind them of what appears to be her house with two figures in the background. When looking at this piece visually, the effect of both playfulness and seriousness can be depicted from the use of light and dark tones, space and combines three dimensionality.

The light and dark tones are important elements that help portray a serious atmosphere in this artwork. Rather than using vivid and brighter colors, this piece uses chromatic greys such as cool earth undertones and neutral colors, which corresponds with the theme of displaying maturity. The hallway of which seems to be a spacious house, depicts darker hues of chromatic greys due to the reflection of light only shining on the entrance where the girl and jester are positioned. The dark hues are seen to be used on the walls and stairs inside the house showing more height, depth and space of portraying a large house. In addition, the darker tones are used on the two figures which appear to be a maid and guard working for the wealthy household in which they may not be the focal point of the piece. The use of lighter tones are placed at the front entrance where the viewers first catch their glance at the girl and jester playing. It gradually becomes darker as the viewer looks further back into the house. The gradual yet subtle change from light to dark tones allow a more in-depth setting as the audience looks into the situation that

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is occurring in the wealthy household. The elements of combining dark and light tones along with a chromatic color palette sets a calming and serious situation of viewing this piece.

This painting portrays playful characteristics by using elements such as space and movement. The movement in the painting is used towards the dog and jester as they are doing tricks in order to entertain the girl. The maid also appears to be moving because of the use of noticeable brushstrokes. Due to the use of brushstrokes, it shows that the maid may have been moving into a different room. The element of space is used since it uses one-point perspective. This technique was especially used in the hallway by getting narrower towards the end of the house. One-point perspective also created more distance towards the staircase by having each step getting smaller in size as it is going up to the second level of the house . Since the entrance