Gerard Dou
Gerard Dou (Gerard Dau; 1613-1675) - Dutch artist, belongs to the circle of "small Dutch".
Gerard Dau was born in Leiden in 1613. He studied with the engraver Bartholomew Dolendo and the glass artist Peter Cowhorn.
In 1628-1631 he studied with Rembrandt and adopted a lot from him in the field of technology, although later Rembrandt's influence on Dow weakened significantly.
He was invited to the court of Charles II, but refused to leave his hometown.
In 1648, Dau was admitted to the Leiden guild of St. Luke, and he organized his own art school. In 1660, the Dutch government bought three paintings from Dow.
Metsu, Peter Cornelius Slingeland, Jacob Torenvlit studied in the Dau workshop.
A master of genre painting, most often his heroes are children and old people. He painted still lifes and night scenes. Dow's work is highly technical.
The works of the artist, who achieved sufficient fame during his lifetime, are kept in the largest museums in the world, several paintings are in the Hermitage. From 2006 to 2014, 14 works by Gerard Dow were sold at Sotheby's auctions, some of which became part of the Leiden collection.
