Gerrit Dou
dal 5/9/2000 al 19/11/2000
Segnalato da
5/9/2000
Gerrit Dou
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Rembrandt's First Pupil. In his day Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) was probably the most famous Dutch painter of them all, revered and prosperous throughout his life. He has the astonishing craftsmanship, the imagination and the variety to carry off a monographic exhibition. This show will place Gerrit Dou back among that small list of household names from the period - Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen and Frans Hals.
Rembrandt's First Pupil
Supported by Arthur & Holly Magill Foundation
In his day Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) was
probably the most famous Dutch painter of them
all, revered and prosperous throughout his life. He has the
astonishing craftsmanship, the imagination and the variety to carry
off a monographic exhibition. This show will place Gerrit Dou back
among that small list of household names from the period -
Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Steen and Frans
Hals.
Dou was Rembrandt's first pupil. He stayed in Leiden when his
master moved to Amsterdam and established there a school of 'fine
painters', specialising in small-scale, highly-detailed and jewel-like
images. Dou's touch is so intricate and sure and yet so soft and
atmospheric that it is impossible to 'see how it is done'. Like his
master, he was fascinated by trompe l'oeil effects - often setting his
scenes behind illusionistic curtains or stone niches, as if his paintings
were windows opening onto a miniature world. Dou is also one of
the great painters of light in the history of art, equally at home with
the brilliant flooding of daylight across a room from a side window,
or with the glow of a single candle-flame. His interiors breathe a
luminous atmosphere; they provide the point of cross-fertilisation
between the two most famous masters of light - Rembrandt and
Vermeer.
Dou painted a variety of subjects, including portraiture, still-life and
religious images, but he is most renowned for his scenes of daily life
- mothers with children, painters in their studios, scholars,
musicians, astronomers, schoolmasters and shopkeepers. These
scenes are packed with details, many of which carry symbolic
messages. What appears to be a simple mirror of reality in fact
conceals a wealth of moralising folklore. His images have the
deceptive simplicity of painted old wives' tales.
This exhibition, organised by the National Gallery of Art,
Washington, and Dulwich Picture Gallery, will bring together about
thirty-five of the finest of Dou's remarkable paintings from all
periods in his long career. It is currently running in Washington until
6 August 2000 and at Dulwich from 6 September to 19 November
2000. The exhibition will then travel to Mauritshuis, The Hague,
where it will be on display from 9 December 2000 to 25 February
2001.
A fully illustrated catalogue will be written by the world expert on
Dou, Dr Ronni Baer, with essays supplied by other distinguished
scholars of Dutch art, including the National Gallery of Art's
curator in charge of the exhibition, Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
Press Office
Kate knowles or Leo crane
k.knowles@dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
l.crane@dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Gallery Road, Dulwich Village,
London SE21 7AD
+44 020 8693 5254
Charity Number:1040942