Gerrit Dou

For more information on Gerrit Dou, see Wikipedia...

As the son of a glass engraver, Gerard Dou (1613-1675) began by learning to engrave and paint glass. In 1628, he was apprenticed to Rembrandt. Here Dou learned the art of chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and shade which became his speciality: his candlelit scenes became all the rage. Dou’s genre paintings also sold for high prices. His meticulous style was highly influential. Followers included his pupil Frans van Mieris, a leading Leiden fijnschilder. In 1665, Dou presented work in a one-man exhibition at the home of artist Johannes Hannot, featuring no less than 27 of his paintings from the collection of fellow townsman Johan de Bye. Dou enjoyed an international reputation: various kings and princes acquired work by him. Yet despite offers of appointments to royal courts abroad, Dou never left Leiden. Source: Rijksmuseum, and bgl The BankGiro Lottery is the national cultural lottery of the Netherlands. Its more than 600,000 participants have the chance to win prizes while supporting all forms of culture in Netherlands – from windmills to concerts and from festivals to museums. Thanks to their participation, the BankGiro Lottery was able to contribute more than € 62 million to culture in the Netherlands. Half of this total will be donated to organizations such as the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and Stichting DOEN, which in turn provide support to the performing arts, visual arts, festivals, cultural projects and concerts. The other half will go to museums, windmills and historic buildings, including the Rijksmuseum, Vereniging de Hollandsche Molen and the Fries Museum.

Added by Janet Milburn 8/4/2017