# Pietje (Girl Reading)

- By: Suze Robertson (The Hague, 1855–1922)
- Date: c. 1898
- Medium: panel, gold leaf, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 42 cm x width 32 cm
- Credit line: On loan from a private collection
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-C-1833--5077c6a68bfeed2821ba6e66013981e4)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/f89c2743cfb7421100f863373bb8034f.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Pietje was probably a relative of Suze Robertson’s childminder. The artist painted her in this pose at least three times. In this version, the gold leaf behind her head forms a striking contrast to the painted brown tones. Robertson was fascinated by gold, initially rendering it in paint. Here she boldly took this a step further by applying gold leaf. By using this material the painting acquires a mystical aura.