Gerrit Dou School

School of GERRIT DOU (Leiden, 1613-1675).
"The night school".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 52 x 40 cm; 72 x 60 cm (frame).
In "The night school", the painter represents a classroom in which a teacher instructs his pupils by the light of candles and lamps. The scene, apparently simple, becomes a masterful exercise in optical observation: multiple light sources generate reflections, transparencies and shadows graduated with almost microscopic precision. The warm glow models the concentrated faces, highlights the surfaces. The present work follows the model of the painting known as The Night School, one of the most representative examples of Gerrit Dou's art and of 17th century Dutch genre painting. Executed around 1660-1665 and now in the Rijksmuseum (inv. SK-A-87), the panel illustrates with extraordinary detail an artificially illuminated interior scene, a subject that fascinated the artist in his mature years.
Gerrit Dou (Leiden, 1613-1675) was one of Rembrandt's most prominent pupils during the latter's stay in Leiden (ca. 1628-1631). From his master he inherited an interest in chiaroscuro and luminous expressiveness, but he soon oriented his production towards an extremely polished and detailed technical finish. Considered the founder of the group of the fijnschilders ("fine" painters), Dou produced small genre scenes for private collectors, appreciated for their technical virtuosity and subtle atmosphere.
Stylistically, the painting synthesizes characteristic features of the Dutch Baroque: naturalism, domestic intimacy and attention to atmospheric effects. In contrast to the theatrical dramatism present in other European traditions, Dou proposes a reduced and silent scale, which invites close contemplation. The precision of the drawing, the smoothness of the tonal transitions and the absolute control of chiaroscuro reveal the artist's technical maturity.