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Baroque and Rococo
Gerrit Dou
Gerrit Dou(b Leiden, 7 April 1613; d Leiden, bur 9 Feb 1675).
Dutch painter. The first and most famous member of the group of artists referred to as the LEIDEN ‘FINE’ PAINTERS, he specialized in small-format paintings, the details and surfaces of which are carefully observed and meticulously rendered. He was greatly praised as a painter of artificial light by Samuel van Hoogstraten in 1678, and he was responsible for popularizing both the night scene and the ‘niche’ format, pictorial devices ultimately derived from the art of his famous master, Rembrandt. Dou used them in images of ordinary people ostensibly engaged in mundane activities.
Self-Portrait
1635-38
Oil on panel
Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums
Old Woman Reading
1631-32
Oil on Panel
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
