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| Artist | After Dou, Gerrit (Dutch painter and draftsman, 1613-1675) |
| Title | Grace Before Meat |
| Date earliest | probably about 1700 |
| Date latest | probably about 1800 |
| Material | oil on metal (copper?) |
| Measurements | 24 x 19 cm |
| Description | The dark, cluttered interior of a house with an old woman saying grace before her meal. The woman wears a white head-dress and collar, red bodice and sleeves, dark skirt and fur trim on her shoulders. She has a green cloth over her lap and her hands are joined in prayer. She sits before a small low table laid with a white cloth, upon which, a round loaf of bread, a joint of meat and a knife. The interior is dark with timber supports. The plaster has come away from the wall in places to reveal the brick beneath. There is a window to the left through which can be seen ivy leaves. The leaded window shutters are open. In the left foreground, there is pottery, a round metal basin, a wicker basket with some white cloth inside. In the right hand foreground, a white dog is curled up asleep on the floor. Also on the right hand side of the picture, a spinning wheel. There is a fireplace behind the woman, above this a small wicker grill. A wooden pail hangs from the rafters. Clothes hang from a string joined to the rafters. Mousetrap (?) in left foreground. The finish is very smooth and glossy. The textures are not as differentiated as in original genuine works by Dou. This is especially evident in the treatment of the face. |
| Subject | everyday life (saying grace); interior; figure (old woman) |
| Collection | Wolverhampton Art Gallery |
| Current accession number | OP29 |
| Previous accession number(s) | 134 |
| Acquisition details | Bequeathed by Mrs Sidney Cartwright 1887. |
| Notes |
Label on back: 'SEBASTIEN D'ORSAI LTD. Picture Framers, Restorers and Gilders, 39 Theobalds Rd, London WC1 X8NW, Tel. 01 405 6663'. On long term loan in the Queen Anne Room of the Geffrye Museum. Wolverhampton documentation records this work as 'probably an 18th century copy of a painting in Alte Pinakothek, Munich (588) (letter from National Gallery 1970). Axel Ruger of the National Gallery concurs (29 January 2006). |
| Rights status | Courtesy of Wolverhampton Art Gallery |
| Author | Dr Patricia Smyth |
