Hooch or Hoogh, Pieter de (both: pē`tər də hōkh), b. c.1629, d. after 1677, Dutch genre painter. He worked in Delft, Leiden, and Amsterdam, painting intimate interiors that may have been influenced by those of Vermeer. Usually he preferred to paint rooms opening into other rooms or to the outdoors, intriguing the imagination with half-seen vistas, and displaying his ability to handle complicated lighting effects. His warm tone and subtle colors show Rembrandt's influence. De Hooch repeated his basic compositions many times, so that his later works are static and less interesting. One of his finest paintings is Courtyard of a Dutch House (National Gall., London). His works are housed in many European museums, and the Metropolitan Museum has seven.

Hooch, Pieter de

or Pieter de Hoogh

(baptized Dec. 20, 1629, Rotterdam, Neth.—died c. 1684, Amsterdam?) Dutch genre painter. He trained in Haarlem and was a member of the painters' guild of Delft (1655–57). In style and subject matter, his work is similar to that of Johannes Vermeer; he was noted for his small interiors and sunny outdoor scenes, with figures engaged in humble, domestic activities in settings of serene simplicity. In his best works, he was concerned with the effect of enclosures on light intensity, tonal variations, and linear perspective. After he moved to Amsterdam (c. 1661), his paintings increased in quantity but declined in quality. He died in a mental institution.