Gerard Dou
Encyclopedia
Dutch Golden Age painting
Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history generally spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years War for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade,...
, whose small, highly-polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English as trompe l'oeil, is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.-History in painting:Although the phrase has its origin in...
"niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
.
Life
His first instructor in drawing and design was Bartholomew Dolendo, an engraverEngraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
; and he afterwards learned the art of glass-painting under Peter Kouwhoorn. At the age of 15 he became a pupil of Rembrandt, with whom he continued for three years. From the great master of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
school he acquired his skill in coloring, and in the more subtle effects of chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
; and the style of Rembrandt is reflected in several of his earlier pictures, notably in a portrait of himself at the age of 22, in the Bridgewater Collection, and in the "Blind Tobit going to meet his Son", at Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle
Wardour Castle is located at Wardour, near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War...
[locations may be outdated].
Notwithstanding the minuteness of his touch, however, the general effect was harmonious and free from stiffness, and his color was always admirably fresh and transparent. He was fond of representing subjects in lantern or candle light, the effects of which he reproduced with a fidelity and skill which no other master has equaled. He frequently painted by the aid of a concave mirror, and to obtain exactness looked at his subject through a frame crossed with squares of silk thread. His practice as a portrait painter, which was at first considerable, gradually declined, sitters being unwilling to give him the time that he deemed necessary. His pictures were always small in size, and represented chiefly subjects in still life. Upwards of 200 are attributed to him, and specimens are to be found in most of the great public collections of Europe.
His chef-d'oeuvre is generally considered to be The dropsical woman (1663), and The Dutch Housewife (1650), both in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. The Evening School, in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, is the best example of the candlelight scenes in which he excelled. In the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, favorable specimens are to be seen in the Poulterer's Shop (1672), and a portrait of himself (see above). Dou's pictures brought high prices, and it is said that the art lover Van Spiering of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
paid him 1,000 florins a year simply for the right of pre-emption. Dou died in Leiden. His most celebrated pupil was Frans van Mieris the Elder. According to the RKD, his other pupils were Bartholomeus Maton, Carel de Moor
Carel de Moor
Carel de Moor was a Dutch Golden Age etcher and painter. He was a pupil of Gerard Dou.-Biography:Carel de Moor was born in Leiden. According to Houbraken, his father was an art dealer who wanted him to study languages and only allowed him to study art when his talent for drawing surfaced at a...
, Matthijs Naiveu
Matthijs Naiveu
Matthys or Matthijs Naiveu was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken he was trained in drawing by Abraham Toorenvliet , a glass painter and drawing instructor , and he learned the art of painting from Gerrit Dou...
, Abraham de Pape, Godfried Schalcken
Godfried Schalcken
Godfried Schalcken or Gottfried Schalken , was a Dutch genre and portrait painter. He was noted for his mastery in reproducing the effect of candlelight, and painted in the exquisite and highly polished manner of the Leiden fijnschilders.- Life and work :Godfried Schalcken was born in 1643 at...
, Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt
Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt
Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who had been a pupil of Gerard Dou and is known as one of Leiden's fijnschilders..-Biography:...
, Domenicus van Tol, Gijsbert Andriesz Verbrugge, and Pieter Hermansz Verelst
Pieter Hermansz Verelst
Pieter Harmensz Verelst , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to the RKD he was a pupil of Gerard Dou and Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp. In 1638 he became a member of the Dordrecht Guild of St. Luke and in 1656 one of the founders of the Confrerie Pictura...
.
Works
- 1623-65: The Night School (RijksmuseumRijksmuseumThe Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
, AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) - 1628: Astronomer (Hermitage MuseumHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
, Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) - 1630s: Old Woman Reading a Lectionary (Rembrandt's Mother) (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
- 1630s: Portrait of a Girl (Manchester Art GalleryManchester Art GalleryManchester Art Gallery is a publicly-owned art gallery in Manchester, England. It was formerly known as Manchester City Art Gallery.The gallery was opened in 1824 and today occupies three buildings, the oldest of which - designed by Sir Charles Barry - is Grade I listed and was originally home to...
, UK) - 1631: Prince Rupert, (J. Paul Getty MuseumJ. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
) - 1635-36: Still Life with a Boy Blowing Soap-Bubbles (National Museum of Western Art, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
) - 1635-1640: Portrait of a Man (National Gallery, London)
- 1637: An Interior with a Young Violinist (National Galleries of ScotlandNational Galleries of ScotlandThe National Galleries of Scotland are the five national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. It is one of the country's National Collections.-List of national galleries:* The National Gallery of Scotland* The Royal Scottish Academy Building...
) - 1640s: Portrait of a Young Woman (National Gallery, London)
- 1640-1645: Portrait of a Man (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
- 1642-1647: St. Jerome in the Desert (Memorial Art Gallery of the University of RochesterUniversity of RochesterThe University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) - 1645: The Schoolmaster (Fitzwilliam MuseumFitzwilliam MuseumThe Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
, CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
) - 1646: Girl Chopping Onions (Royal CollectionRoyal CollectionThe Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
, London) - 1647: Still Life With Book and Purse(J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles)
- 1650: The Dutch Housewife (Louvre, Paris)
- 1650s: The Young Mother (GemäldegalerieGemäldegalerie, BerlinThe Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...
, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) - 1650s: Self Portrait (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
- 1650s: Self-portrait at the Window (ResidenzgalerieResidenzgalerieThe Residenzgalerie is an art gallery in the Alte Residenz, Salzburg, Austria. Its collection includes works by Rembrandt, Carel Fabritius, Carlo Saraceni and Hieronymus Francken II.-History:...
, SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
) - 1652: The Quack (Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
) - 1653:The Physician (Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o WaiwhetuChristchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o WaiwhetuThe Christchurch Art Gallery, with the formal name of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is funded by Christchurch City Council. It has its own substantial art collection and presents a programme of New Zealand and...
, ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand) - 1653: The Violin Player (Liechtenstein Palace, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) - 1655: Old Woman Cutting Bread (Museum of Fine ArtsMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
) - 1655: Astronomer by Candlelight (J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles)
- 1658: The Young Mother (MauritshuisMauritshuisThe Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis is an art museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter and Frans...
, The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
) - 1660-1665: Old Woman Unreeling Threads (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
- 1660-1665: Soldier Bather (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
- 1660-1665: Woman Bather (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
- 1660-1665: Selfportrait (Louvre, Paris)
- 1663: The Dropsical Woman (Louvre, Paris)
- 1663: Woman at a Window with a Copper Bowl of Apples and a Cock Pheasant (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)
- 1665: A Lady playing a Clavichord (Dulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture GalleryDulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) - 1670: A Hermit Praying (Minneapolis Institute of ArtsMinneapolis Institute of ArtsThe Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a fine art museum located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a campus that covers nearly 8 acres , formerly Morrison Park...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) - 1670: The Hermit (National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) - 1670s: A Poulterer's Shop (National Gallery, London)
- 1670-75: The Herring Seller (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
- Self Portrait (National Gallery, London)
- Portrait of a Young Man (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)
- Evening Light (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
- Young Man (The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
) - The Cook (Louvre, Paris)
- The Spinner (Gala-Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
Foundation) - The Spinning Reel (Fine Arts Museums of San FranciscoFine Arts Museums of San FranciscoThe Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in California.-External...
) - The Reader (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
- Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman (Museum of Fine Arts at the University of MontanaUniversity of Montana - MissoulaThe University of Montana ‒ Missoula is a public research university located in Missoula, Montana, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the university is the flagship campus of the four-campus University of Montana System and is its largest institution...
, Missoula) - Dog at Rest (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)