Johannes Helder was born in the northern part of the Netherlands and studied at the art studios of Rotterdam. He lived and worked in Leiden, later moving to Utrecht. He painted genre scenes, portraits, and landscapes but was known primarily for interior views, a number of which were painted in the trompe l'œil l style, as seen here.
Trompe l'œil, French for "deceive the eye," is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion that tricks the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object. Here, the head of the man coming through the hole in the wooden door and the pistol he is pointing at the viewer give the impression they are coming off the canvas.