Although Bernard de Hoog began his life as a merchant, he taught himself to draw, refining his technique through industrious studies of nature and copying from Old Masters such as Pieter de Hooch. He started earning money through commissions from dealers and made just enough to afford paying his models. In 1886, during his first showing in Amsterdam, he garnered public admiration for the naturalism and believability of a painting entitled A Sermon in the Dungeon. He later matured into a dedicated painter of country life and peasant houses.

A master of composition and color, De Hoog is able to suggest various moods and create a multitude of effects through his delicate tones and intimate open images, often...