i JAN STEEN 8 1 Signed in the left-hand bottom corner with the monogram ; panel, 1 6^ inches by 14^ inches. Sales. De la Court Backer, Leyden, August 9, 1766, No. 56 (335 florins, Diodati). P. J. Hogguer, Amsterdam, August 1 8, 1817, No. 80 (470 florins, Josi), measuring 16 inches by 12 inches. Formerly in the collection of J. P. Geelhand de Labistrate, Antwerp. In the Kums Museum, Antwerp, 1878 ; sold May 17, 1898, No. 130. 285. THE VILLAGE SCHOOL. Sm. 21 ; W. 240. The master, an aged man, is seated on the right, in profile. He is dressed in a yellow jacket with striped sleeves and wears a black cap. A weep- ing boy in grey holds out his hand to the master to receive a stroke from the ferule. A girl standing beside the master's table laughs at the boy ; a little boy near her looks sad. In the centre a boy with a piece of paper in his hand says his lesson. There are other boys in the background. In all, there are eight pupils ; the figures are somewhat too large. A repetition of the preceding picture (284), save in details. Canvas, 43 inches by 32 inches. Exhibited in the British Gallery, 1818. Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 1883, No. 249. Sales. (Probably) Iz. Hoogenbergh, Amsterdam, April 10, 1743, No. 42 (190 florins), measuring 42 inches by 32^ inches. (Probably) W. Lormier, The Hague (Hoet, ii. 438), July 4, 1763, No. 245 (1000 florins), measuring 46^- inches by 33 inches. H. Phillips, London, 1815 (120 : 155.). G. J. Cholmondeley, London, 1831 (93 : 95., Squibb). Now in the Dublin National Gallery, 1898 catalogue, No. 226. 286. THE SCHOOL. A woman, turned to the left, is teaching in a school. To the left are five children. The picture is genuine, but of little importance ; it has been over-cleaned and retouched. Now in the Hoogendijk collection, The Hague, No. 429. 287. THE SCHOOL OF BOYS AND GIRLS. Sm. 20 and 205 j Suppl. no; W. 139. In the centre of a large room the master and his wife are seated at a table. The woman wears a white kerchief like that worn by the women in Ostade's pictures ; she is hearing a lesson from a boy who stands before her. The master wears spectacles, and is cutting a quill pen. There are about twenty-eight scholars in several groups. In the foreground a boy lies on the floor asleep ; behind him is a girl with a book under her arm. It is a very good picture. Canvas, 33 inches by 43 inches. Described by Descamps, Immerzeel, and Waagen (ii. 45). Engraved by V. Green. Exhibited at the British Gallery, 1815, and at Manchester, 1857, No. 955. Sales. Lormier, The Hague, 1763 (1000 florins, Hoet). G. Braamkamp, Amsterdam, July 31, 1771, No. 221 (1200 florins, Greenwood). Marquis of Camden, 1841 (1092, for Lord Francis Egerton). Now in the Bridgewater Gallery, London, No. 153. VOL. I G
