DOU, Gerrit
(b. 1613, Leiden, d. 1675, Leiden)

The Grocer's Shop

1647
Oil on wood, 38,5 x 29 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Dou popularized the the compositional device of a figure engaged at some occupation at a window. The earliest dated one is The Grocer's Shop in the Louvre. Soon after, the window motif occurs frequently in the Leiden School. The window frames quickly become more elaborate, bas-reliefs are introduced under the sills, and the windows are draped with curtains.