DISCOVERART

Dutch

The Terrace

c. 1660
Oil on canvas
106.9 × 87.4 cm (42.1 × 34.4 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 213

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The military gear, musical instruments, and songbooks scattered throughout this composition hint at worldly and romantic pursuits, but the chief subject of the painting is the illusionism of the near and far objects framed by the window. Optical challenges were particularly intriguing to artists working in the Dutch city of Delft. This painting would have blurred the boundaries of indoor and outdoor when hung in a collector’s home.

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