A Fisherman’s Wife
1653
Gerrit Dou, a master of the Leiden school of fine painting, traps us in a masterful illusion here. An elderly woman leans out of a deeply recessed stone window, casually holding a clay pipe in one hand and a wooden distaff for spinning in the other. The date MDCLIII is carved into the stone ledge below, anchoring this incredibly lifelike scene in 1653. Dou was famous for his microscopic attention to detail and dramatic lighting, making this humble, everyday subject glow with the intensity of a Renaissance saint. You can almost smell the tobacco smoke!
- Technique
- Oil on panel
Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
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