Gerard Dou, Gerrit Douw (1613–1675) — Dutch Golden Age painter who studied under Rembrandt and later founded the famous St. Luke's Guild. His paintings were characterized by extreme attention to detail, small size and very smooth surfaces, which became a trademark of the school of “refined artists”, also founded by Dou. He painted in all genres: domestic scenes, portraiture, still life and even nudes, which was rare for Dutch painting at the time.
At the poultry lady's shop.
His paintings Dou wrote very long and carefully, it was absurd: once a customer, seeing how much time Dou spent on the image of an ordinary broom, praised him for his patience and thoroughness. But he replied that there is still work for a few days, and then you can move on to other details. Dow also painted portraits, but few people dared to such orders: for his work he demanded 6 guilders per hour, and could spend a week on the image of only one hand. In the end, the portrait came out truly “golden”, although no one doubted its artistic merit.
Young lady behind the toilet
The basic plot of his works was usually simple: a girl or a woman going about her daily business, but here the whole essence was hidden in the details. They are full of symbols and references to popular Dutch proverbs, sayings and mottos. True, to understand some of his paintings, you need to “be in the subject”. For buyers of his works it was not difficult, but the modern viewer will not understand a lot of things there. But we will try to give some explanations.
Man with a pipe and a book (Self-portrait)
Born into the family of engraver Jans Dou, Gerrit was exposed to his father's craftsmanship from childhood. He was taught rather harshly, and at the age of 9 he was apprenticed to his father's engraver acquaintance. Then he worked in glass and even became a member of the glassmakers' guild. Despite his young age, he worked as an adult in the not very healthy glass industry. But, fortunately, at the age of 15, he managed to enter the pupils of Rembrandt. For parents it was expensive - had to pay 100 guilders a year, but Dou gave great hope and was the most talented of Rembrandt's students, which at 22-year-old artist numbered 40 people.
A quack healer
Teaching consisted mainly of copying Rembrandt's paintings, which still had to be sold, since at that time the teacher was not obliged to provide food or any kind of allowance for his pupils. According to biographers' records, the pupils worked in the attic in separate cells separated by sailcloth. It was hot and stuffy in the summer and cold in the winter, but no one complained, and they accepted these inconveniences as normal.
The servant girl at the window
It is not surprising that Dou's early paintings almost entirely repeated the creative work of Rembrandt. But by 1630 he managed to develop his own style.His distinctive feature was attention to detail, careful drawing of all the objects that together made up the general idea of the picture and often had a symbolic meaning. This is especially characteristic of the painting “Girl cutting a onion”.
Girl cutting a onion.
At first glance, everything seems dignified and decent, but the whole point lies in the details and furnishings. The empty birdcage symbolized the loss of innocence; the onion, considered an aphrodisiac in Holland, makes it clear that the girl is not as virtuous as she appears at first glance. The dead partridge, that is, the bird, or vogel in Dutch, had a second meaning related directly to sexual relations. Even the boy is very reminiscent of cupid. But for all that, Dou sympathizes with the girl who had the misfortune to fall in love and give in to her suitor's desires. It seems that he has no intention of marrying her, which means that such love will bring her a lot of tears and grief - this is directly indicated by the large purse of chopped onions.
The woman at the clavichord
In 1630, Rembrandt and Jan Lievens, as well as several other famous artists, left Leiden, where Dou lived, which was to Dou's advantage. Competition decreased, and because of his talent he was soon recognized as the first painter in town. His style was favored by all the powerful merchants and feudal lords, who were willing to pay more for a painting that was artistically better than others.
Dentist by candlelight
“He is a master of depicting small and uncomplicated things, which together define the essence of his paintings,” Burgomaster Jan Orlers wrote of Dou. Dou was praised by art critics, urging other artists to follow his example. “Carelessness in painting is unacceptable, something our artists forget, putting their art on the stream, wanting to make more money from it.”
Bather
Dou began to play in the “big leagues”, asking thousands of guilders for his paintings, but also spending an enormous amount of time on the smallest of them. His working method can be characterized as “uncompromising perfectionism”. He personally did all the rough work that artists usually entrust to their apprentices, right down to the rubbing of the paints, used special brushes made of the most precious fur and was very afraid of dust, so he hid his canvases, paints and brushes in a dustproof cupboard.
A woman with hydrocele
However, Dou still had students, and even more had followers and imitators. It was they who organized a school of “exquisite artists”, the basis of which was very accurate and meticulous reproduction of the smallest details in the paintings. Because of this approach, the paintings themselves were painted small, so that their price did not exceed reasonable limits.
Young mom
But even so, Dou's paintings became more expensive than Rembrandt's works, for example, for the painting “Young Mom” Dou was paid 4 thousand guilders, while even the most skilled masters earned about a guilder a day. It was purchased by King Charles II of England, who was so delighted that he offered Dou a place as court painter. But Dou was happy in his hometown, so he simply refused the king, as he could afford it. He lived all his life in Leiden, never married, although he was highly respected, and probably even the most attractive girl would have been happy to marry him. But creativity attracted Dou more than family life, and perhaps he was a true perfectionist not only in painting, but also in the requirements for his future wife, and no one could match them.
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