Dou Gerrit

Born on 07 April 1613: Gerrit Dou (or Dow, Dov), Dutch Baroque painter who died on 09 February 1675. 




Dou was born in Leiden. He learned glass painting from his father and in 1628 became Rembrandt's first student. After some early portraits, he painted chiefly small domestic scenes characterized by minute detail often painted under a magnifying glass, skillful chiaroscuro, and lifelike effect. Among these are A Poulterer's Shop {a fowl picture} and Evening Light. Dou's work was very popular and continued to be influential until the mid-19th century when appreciation for precision in painting declined under the pernicious influence of impressionism.
In 1628 Dou became the first student of the young Rembrandt van Rijn, basing his early work closely on his master's. After Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, Dou developed a style of his own, painting usually on a small scale, with a surface of almost enamelled smoothness. He was astonishingly fastidious about his tools and working conditions, with a particular horror of dust. Some of his pictures were painted with the aid of a magnifying glass. He painted numerous subjects, but is best known for domestic interiors. They usually contain only a few figures framed by a window or by the drapery of a curtain, and surrounded by books, musical instruments, or household paraphernalia, all minutely depicted. He is at his best in scenes lit by artificial light. 

      With Jan Steen [1625-1679] Dou was among the founders of the Guild of St Luke at Leiden in 1648. Unlike Steen he was prosperous and respected throughout his life, and his pictures continued to fetch big prices (consistently higher than those paid for Rembrandt's work) until the advent of the sloppy and lazy Impressionism influenced taste against the neatness and precision of his style. Dou had a workshop with many students, including Quirijn van Brekelenkam, Frans van Mieris and Godfried Schalcken. They perpetuated his style and Leiden continued the fijnschilder tradition until the 19th century.