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The Young Mother'
Gerrit Dou1658
Mauritshuis
Den Haag, Netherlands
A young mother sits by the window with her needlework. Beside her, a serving girl kneels next to the cradle. It is painted by Gerrit Dou, the forefather of the Leiden ‘fijnschilders’, or fine painters. He worked with such precision, you can hardly see the individual brushstrokes.
In 1660, this painting was part of a diplomatic gift from Holland to the new king of England, Charles II. On receiving it, the kind immediately offered Gerrit Dou a permanent position at court. But Dou declined his offer.
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Details
- Title: The Young Mother'
- Creator: Dou, Gerrit
- Date Created: 1658
- Physical Dimensions: h73.7 cm x w55.5 cm
- Provenance: Purchased from the artist by the Executive Committee of the States of Holland and West-Friesland, October 1660; part of the ‘Dutch Gift’ to Charles II, London, 22 November 1660; King Charles II, London, 1660-1685 (inventory 1666-1667, no. 389); King James II, London, 1685-1688 (Whitehall inventory 1688, no. 501); taken by King-Stadholder William III from London to Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, after 1689; by inheritance to his cousin, Johan Willem Friso of Nassau-Dietz, Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, 1702-1711 (his seal on the verso of the panel); his widow, Maria Louise of Hessen-Kassel, Apeldoorn and Leeuwarden, 1711-1731 (valuation Het Loo 1712, no. 4; inventory Het Loo 1713, no. 897; offered for sale as part of the Jan van Beuningen sale, Amsterdam, 13 May 1716 (Lugt 257), no. 58, bought in for 1,310 guilders and returned to Maria Louise before 1720; inventory Palace of Leeuwarden 1731, no. 293); her son, Prince William IV, transferred from Leeuwarden to Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, 1731-1751; Prince William V, Apeldoorn and The Hague, 1751-1795 (inventory Het Loo Palace 1757, no. 86; transferred from Apeldoorn to the Stadholderly Quarters, The Hague, 1763; Prince William V Gallery, The Hague, from 1774 onwards); confiscated by the French, transferred to the Muséum central des arts/Musée Napoléon (Musée du Louvre), Paris, 1795-1815; Royal Picture Gallery, housed in the Prince William V Gallery, The Hague, 1816; transferred to the Mauritshuis in 1822
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil on panel
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