A Young Man Reaching For His Cap

Samuel van Hoogstraten 1627 - 1678

Summary

A young man reaches across a table for his red cap, which is hanging on a nail. The table is covered with a rich carpet, on top of which is a large open book, which he has evidently been reading. On top of this lies a pocket-sized book with two black ribbons attached to it, with which it can be fastened shut. The young man is frowning, as if greatly preoccupied. Hoogstraten entered Rembrandt's studio in 1641. His early work in particular shows the latter's influence in its warm colouration and handling of paint. Hoogstraten became a highly successful artist in his own right. He produced a seminal treatise on painting, Inleyding tot de hooge schoole der schilderkonst, anders de zichtbaere werelt, which was published in 1678, just before his death, as well as several volumes of prose and poetry. This work is clearly greatly indebted to Rembrandt and may date from the time of Hoogstraten's period in Rembrandt's studio, or shortly after.