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 .