Gerrit Dou

Self portrait

Panel (rounded at the top), 12.4 x 8.3 cm

Signed at upper left, on the lower edge of the curtain: GDov (GD in ligature)

We know of a total of 12 painted self-portraits by Gerrit Dou, clearly a faithful follower of his teacher, Rembrandt. In our self-portrait - the smallest of the 12 - Dou wears a rather serious expression and is dressed in the latest fashion. The details in the background clearly refer to the artist's profession. By the mid-1640s Dou was a celebrated master and his studio drew talented pupils seeking to master his techniques and who would go down in history as the so-called 'school of Leiden fijnschilders'.