BOURSSE, ESAIAS (163o-1673), Dutch painter, born in Amsterdam, was a follower of Pieter de Hooch. His paintings are exceedingly rare, many of them pass under the names of Vermeer of Delft and Pieter de Hooch. Two of the paintings ascribed to the latter (one bears the false signature) at the Ryks museum in Amsterdam, are now recognized as being the work of Boursse. His subjects are interiors with figures, painted with great precision and with exquisite quality of colour. The Wallace collection has his masterpiece, an interior with a woman and a child in a cradle, reflecting something of the feeling of Rembrandt, by whom he was influenced. Other important examples are at the Ryks museum and at Aix-la-Chapelle. "Boy blowing Soap Bub bles," is in the Berlin museum.