Long-hidden soldier returns to Pieter de Hooch painting after Mauritshuis restoration

A mysterious soldier who had been painted over in a 17th-century painting by Pieter de Hooch has been revealed again after a major restoration at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. The figure reappears in 'A Courtyard with a Smoking Man and a Drinking Woman' (c. 1658–60), which depicts a woman drinking, a man smoking, and a child in a sunlit courtyard. The painting had long appeared to show an ordinary scene, but the abandoned pipe, open beer tankard, and a cloak hung over a railing suggested a missing figure. Research confirmed that a soldier in armor holding a large beer mug had originally been part of the composition, but was overpainted by an unknown hand between the 17th and early 19th centuries. The rediscovery presented the museum with a difficult conservation decision, which has now been resolved by the restoration. The painting is a notable example of De Hooch's domestic scenes, and the restoration has brought the work closer to its original state.