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A Young Woman Drawing Water From A Well Oil Oak Panel

About the Item

Circle of Gerrit Dou 1613-1675 A Young Woman Drawing Water From A Well Oil on oak panel Image size: 12 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches (32 x 25 cm) Dutch ripple frame Wax seal verso for Baron Moritz Herzog, Budapest Provenance Collection of Baron Moritz Herzog, Budapest Sothebys 14th June 1961 Private Collection Sothebys 5th July 1989 Private Collection It is possible this work is by Dou's pupil Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635–81). The detail to this painting is superb and hard to tell from the images, such as the tiny snail on the edge of the table or the black swans in the distant lake. Van Mieris initially worked in the style of his master; his other version of "Kitchen Maid Drawing Water from a Well" made before 1655 is even a literal copy of a work by Dou. He most likely produced other early work while in Dou’s workshop. After 1658, the year Van Mieris joined the Leiden Guild of Saint Luke, however, he increasingly distanced himself from his Dou. The present work has set the viewpoint further back and has elaborated on the composition by adding an extensive landscape at middle right and an additional still life of cabbages and artichokes in the lower right foreground. One of the other versions, in the collection of the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel, bears the signature of Gerrit Dou, suggesting that Dou, who was van Mieris’s teacher, may have been the originator of the subject. In this genre painting it portrays a young woman within a transformed courtyard, originally a ruined building, as she collects water from a well. The idealised scene features a table adorned with pottery, fruit, and flowers, symbolising the abundance and vitality of life, juxtaposed against the dilapidated structure. In the background, a landscape view of a medieval city and mountains enhances the setting. The painting’s rich detail and vibrant colours transport the viewer to a scene of domestic tranquillity and bliss. However, in the bottom right hand corner amidst the scattered vegetables on the floor, a toad lays hidden. To contemporary viewers this creature was seen as a vile familiar of witches, symbolising death and the agonies of the damned. The toad, steeped in legends, was thought to wield sinister powers, capable of cursing crops and spreading misfortune. Its presence served as a chilling reminder of the malevolent forces lurking just beyond the everyday world. Gerrit Dou Gerrit Dou, a prominent Dutch painter until the early 19th century, was renowned for his meticulously detailed scenes of everyday life, often depicted within arched stone openings, known as ‘niche’ paintings. Born in Leiden to a glass engraver, Dou began his artistic training under Rembrandt in 1628 and continued until Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam around 1631. Rembrandt’s influence is evident in Dou’s early works and portraits. Dou founded the Leiden Fijnschilders, a group of painters known for their fine, small-scale, and meticulous work, which included artists like Gottfried Schalcken and Frans van Mieris. He was also a founding member of the Leiden painters’ guild in 1648. Dou spent his entire career in Leiden, even declining an invitation from Charles II to visit England. Museums The National Gallery, London The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery Museum Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen Preussiescher Kulturbesitz, Berlin The Royal Academy of Arts, London Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Maurtshuis, The Hague The Louvre, Paris The Wallace Collection, London The Heritage Museum, Saint Petersburg Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam The Getty Centre, Los Angeles The National Gallery of Art, Washington
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12.6 in (32 cm)Width: 9.85 in (25 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Circle Of:
    Gerrit Dou (1613 - 1675, Dutch)
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52415348712

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