Self-Portrait (Dou, New York)
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| Self-Portrait | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gerrit Dou  |
| Year | c. 1665 |
| Medium | Oil paint, panel |
| Dimensions | 48.9 cm (19.3 in) × 39.1 cm (15.4 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Accession no. | 14.40.607 |
| Identifiers | RKDimages ID: 237882 The Met object ID: 436210 |
Self-Portrait is a 1665 niche painting by Gerrit Dou. It shows the artist at the peak of his fame, holding a palette and surrounded by studio objects. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.[1]
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Like his teacher Rembrandt before him, Dou created several self-portraits, probably on commission for specific patrons who owned more than one of his works. Today about a dozen are known. This one came into the collection via the Benjamin Altman bequest.
This painting by Dou was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1908, who wrote; "283. Portrait of the Painter. Sm. 101 and Suppl. 60; M. 112. He stands at a window, holding palette and brushes in his left hand, and turning over with his right the leaves of a large book lying on the sill. He looks about forty. He wears a brownish vest with sleeves, a dark blue cloak embroidered with gold lace, and a light blue cap. A curtain hangs over the window-sill, partly covering the well-known relief by Duquesnoy of children playing with a he-goat, which is underneath the window. In the foreground is a pot of marigolds. A vine grows over one side of the window, where is hung a bird-cage. In the background is an easel with an open umbrella on the top. "A very beautiful and interesting picture " (Sm.).[2] Blanc states wrongly that it was on canvas, measuring 28 inches by 23 1/2 inches.[3][4]
The relief by Duquesnoy was used several times by Dou in other niche paintings:
