© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Old Man Praying
Page 2 of 7

Old Man Praying
Gerrit Dou(Leiden 1613 – 1675 Leiden)

ca. 1665–70
oil on panel
18 x 12.7 cm
signed in dark paint along right edge: “GDOU”(GD in ligature)
GD-107

How to cite
Surh, Dominique. “Old Man Praying” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rd ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock
Jr. and Lara Yeager-Crasselt. New York, 2020–23. https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/ (archived December2023).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by apermanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs.

Despite the dynamic, lively touch of the artist’s brush, Gerrit Dou’s Old Man

Comparative Figures

Praying is a painting of calm, spiritual reverence. Seen from a slightly elevatedviewpoint and against an undefined backdrop, the elderly bearded figure kneels inprayer while gazing fervently toward an unseen object of devotion. This undated
painting relates closely to four works depicting an aged hermit that Dou executed
between 1665 and 1670.[1] In each of these other works, however, Dou included acontext for the hermit’s spiritual reverence, whether a crucifix or some othersymbolic attribute related to the Christian faith.[2] For example, in Hermit Praying,
1670, in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (fig 1), Dou placed the hermit in a
carefully articulated environment that includes a dead tree trunk and an architecturalruin.[3] With a rosary in hand, the hermit gazes toward the Bible on his lap. Otherobjects that symbolically evoke Christian spirituality and transience—crucifix, skull,
extinguished candle, and hourglass—rest on a nearby table.[4] This imagery is also
depicted in Dou’s The Hermit (1670) in the National Gallery of Art in Washington,

Fig 1. Gerrit Dou, Hermit Praying,
1670, oil on panel, 33.6 x 27 cm, The
Minneapolis Institute of Arts,
Minneapolis, The William Hood
Dunwoody Fund, inv. 87.11

D.C. (fig 2).
© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Old Man Praying
Page 3 of 7

One can only speculate as to why, in the Leiden Collection painting, Dou chose tofocus exclusively on the hermit’s prayerful gesture and not include the types ofChristian attributes he included in the other paintings of hermits. One explanation
may be that Dou painted this work for a Protestant patron who wanted an image of
personal piety and commitment to faith expressed through prayer.[5] Whatever themotivation for this focused approach to the subject, it seems probable that Dou
painted this tronie in his studio after a live model, one whom he depicted a number oftimes in the 1660s and 1670s, including in the Minneapolis painting. The figure’s
wide-set eyes, nose, and wrinkles above his brow are distinctive features that Dou
must have found compelling for his representations of a spiritual individual.
The infrared photograph of an Old Man Praying reveals a vigorous and spontaneous
undermodeling that suggests Dou painted this figure quickly from life.(fig 3) It shows
clearly that Dou modified the man’s position during the painting process by adjusting
the angle of his shoulders to a three-quarter view.[6] The lively brushstrokes that Dou

Fig 2. Gerrit Dou, The Hermit, 1670,
oil on oak panel, 46 x 34.5 cm,
National Gallery of Art, Washington
D.C., Timken Collection, 1960.6.8used to model the figure’s face are reminders of the artist’s unique ability to render
forms meticulously while maintaining a loose and free handling of the brush.[7] Dou’s
idiosyncratic, “hatching” style of brushwork is clearly visible along the hermit’s
temple and nose and on the back of his hands. The energetically and quickly executedbackground, where the master applied his translucent paint with a relatively wide
brush, is visible in infrared as well as with the naked eye.
Old Man Praying once formed part of the distinguished collection of Lothar Franzvon Schönborn (1655–1729), Elector of Mainz and Archbishop of Bamberg atPommersfelden, one of the most important collections of paintings in eighteenthcentury Germany. By the time Schönborn acquired this painting in 1719, he had
amassed a collection of almost one thousand works of art, eventually owning nine
paintings by Dou.[8] In 2006 the present owner acquired this small masterpiece alongFig 3. Infrared photograph of GD-107

with another soulful image of an elderly person, Rembrandt’s Study of a Woman in aWhite Cap (RR-101), at the same Sotheby’s sale in New York.[9]- Dominique Surh, 2017

© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Old Man Praying
Page 4 of 7Endnotes
1. The Hermit, 1670, oil on panel, 46 x 34.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1960.6.8; AHermit, 1664, oil on panel, 33.5 x 27.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-C-128; A Hermit
Praying, 1670, oil on panel, 33.66 x 26.99 cm, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The William Hood
Dunwoody Fund, 87.11; A Hermit in Prayer, 1645–75, oil on panel, 25 x 19 cm, Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-88.
2. Ronni Baer, “The Paintings of Gerrit Dou (1613–1675),” 3 vols. (PhD diss. New York University,1990), “Appendix B: Works Known from Sources Prior to 1800.”
3. Ronni Baer, “Image of Devotion: Dou’s Hermit Praying,” Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin 67 (1995):
22–33.
4. Ronni Baer, “Hermit Praying,” Gerrit Dou, 1613–1675: Master Painter in the Age of Rembrandt, ed.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art; London, Dulwich Picture
Gallery; The Hague, Mauritshuis, 2000) (Zwolle, 2000), 130–31, no. 33.
5. Annegret Laabs and Christoph Schölzel. The Leiden fijnschilders from Dresden. Edited by ChristiaanVogelaar. Exh. cat. Leiden, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal; Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister,
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (Zwolle, 2000), 35–37.
6. Dominique Surh, Ilona van Tuinen, and John Twilley. “Insights from Technical Analysis on a Group ofPaintings by Gerrit Dou in the Leiden Collection.” JHNA 6, no. 1 (Winter 2014):
DOI:10.5092/jhna.2014.6.1.3.
7. Eric Jan Sluijter, De lof der schilderkunst: over schilderijen van Gerrit Dou (1613–1675) en een traktaat
van Philips Angel uit 1642 (Hilversum, 1993).
8. The present work remained at the palace of Pommersfelden for almost 150 years, until 1867.
See Catalogue de la galerie de Pommersfelden (Bamberg, 1719), no. 33; Katalog der Gräflich von
Schönborn’schen Bilder-Gallerie zu Pommersfelden (Würzburg, 1857), no. 541; Otto Mündler, Cataloguede tableaux de la galerie des Cte. de Schönborn à Pommersfelden (Paris, 1861), 23, no. 541; Cornelis
Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of theSeventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith, ed. and trans. Edward G. Hawke, 8 vols. (London,1907–28), originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke derhervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, 10 vols. (Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28),
1: 352, no. 29a.
9. See Provenance.

Provenance© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Old Man Praying
Page 5 of 7Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655–1729), Elector of Mainz and Archbishop of Bamberg, SchlossWeissenstein, by 1719; by descent to Count Schönborn of Pommersfelden (his sale, Paris, 17 May 1867,no. 24 [to Bamberg for 2500 ff.]).
Vice Consul Bamberg, Brussels.
(Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 28 January 2000, no. 39; sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 26 January 2006, no.
15 [Otto Naumann Ltd., New York, 2006]).
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2006.

Exhibition History
Dublin, National Gallery of Art, on loan with the permanent collection, 1 December 2007–30 December
2009 [lent by the present owner].
Oxford, Ashmolean Museum of Art, on loan with the permanent collection, December 2009–January
2011 [lent by the present owner].
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, “Dutch Treat,” 11 October 2011–6 January 2012 [lent by thepresent owner].
Leiden, Museum de Lakenhal, “Gerrit Dou: The Leiden Collection From New York,” 9 March–31
August 2014 [lent by the present owner].
Paris, Museé du Louvre, “Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection: The Age of Rembrandt,” 22February–22 May 2017 [lent by the present owner].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden
Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].
Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund, “Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age:Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection,” 23 September 2017–25 February 2018 [lent by the presentowner].
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpiecesof The Leiden Collection,” 28 March 2018–22 July 2018 [lent by the present owner].
St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces ofThe Leiden Collection,” 5 September 2018–13 January 2019 [lent by the present owner].

References
Galerie de Pommersfelden. Catalogue de la Galerie de Pommersfelden, Bamberg, 1719, no. 33.
© 2024 The Leiden Collection

Old Man Praying
Page 6 of 7

Katalog der Gräflich von Schönborn’schen Bilder-Gallerie zu Pommersfelden, Würzburg, 1857, no. 541.
Mündler, Otto. Catalogue de Tableaux [de la galerie des Cte. de Schönborn à Pommersfelden]. [Paris],
1861, 23, no. 541.
Martin, Wilhelm. “Het leven en de werken van Gerrit Dou beschouwd in verband met het schilderslevenvan zijn tijd.” PhD diss. Universiteit Leiden, 1901, no. 31.
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters oftheSeventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. Edited and translated by Edward G. Hawke, 1:352, no. 29a. 8 vols. London, 1907–28. Originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis
der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen andParis, 1907–28.
Baer, Ronni. “The Paintings of Gerrit Dou (1613–1675).” 3 vols. PhD diss. New York University, 1990,
under “Appendix B: Works Known from Sources Prior to 1800.”
Surh, Dominique, Ilona van Tuinen, and John Twilley. “Insights from Technical Analysis on a Group ofPaintings by Gerrit Dou in the Leiden Collection.” JHNA 6, no. 1 (Winter 2014): 2-5, 8-9, 19, figs. 11ab, 21, 22, 49, 50. DOI:10.5092/jhna.2014.6.1.3
Surh, Dominique.

“Old Man Praying.” In Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection: The Age ofRembrandt. Edited by Blaise Ducos and Dominique Surh, 50, no. 15. Exh. cat. Paris, Musée du Louvre.
Paris, 2017.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Old Man Praying.” In Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden
Collection. Edited by Lara Yeager-Crasselt, 76; 178, no. 28. Translated by Li Ying. Exh. cat. Beijing,
National Museum of China. Beijing, 2017.
Long Museum, West Bund. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces fromThe Leiden Collection. Exh. cat. Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund. Shanghai, 2017, 102, 104.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Old Man Praying.” In The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces of TheLeiden Collection. Edited by Polina Lyubimova, 96–97; 234, no. 15. Translated by Daria Babich andDaria Kuzina. Exh. cat. Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; St. Petersburg, The State
Hermitage Museum. Moscow, 2018.
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. “Making Faces: The Development of the Tronie in Seventeenth-CenturyLeiden.” In Anonymous Portraits: Dutch Seventeenth-Century Tronies. Sales cat. Nicholas Hall. New
York, 2019, 24, fig. 23.

Versions
Versions and Copies
1. Gerrit Dou, An Old Hermit in a Dark Cloak, n.d., oil on panel, 14.9 x 11.6 cm, private collection, theNetherlands, by 1940.
© 2024 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Old Man Praying
Page 7 of 7

2. Gerrit Dou, An Old Hermit, n.d., oil on panel, 17 x 13 cm, formerly sale, Bukowskis, Stockholm, 31May 2000, no. 396.

3. Circle of Gerrit Dou, A Bearded Old Man, n.d., oil on panel, 20. 7 x 16.6 cm, formerly sale, Christie’s,
South Kensington, 12 December 1996, no. 245.

4. Gerrit Dou, Head of an Old Man, n.d., support and dimensions unknown, formerly Strauss Collectionsale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 11 March 1953, no. 7.

5. Gerrit Dou, An Elderly Man, n.d., support and dimensions unknown, formerly with Kleinberger
Galleries, Paris, possibly equivalent to no. 4, above.

6. Follower of Gerrit Dou, Portrait of an Elderly Man, Bust-Length, in a Black Coat, n.d., oil on panel, 15 x
11.6 cm, formerly sale, Bonhams, London, 20 October 2013, no. 72.

Technical Summary
The painting is executed on a vertically grained panel. The panel is made from a single oak plank of Baltic
origin with a fell date between 1622 and 1638.[1] The panel is in plane, but the vertical edges are not perfectly
square, as they curve inward slightly in the upper corners. The reverse of the panel is beveled along all fouredges, but the bevel is 1.0 to 1.5 cm narrower along the left and right sides than along the top and bottom,
suggesting the left and right edges have been trimmed.
The panel was prepared with a light-colored ground that was thinly and evenly applied. The paint has been
built up in successive layers. It is so thin in the background that it allows the ground to show through. Dou
used low impasto in the folds of the sitter’s robe and his beard. He created the wrinkles in the sitter’s browwith deep horizontal brushstrokes. A pentimento shows that Dou shifted the outer contour of the sitter’sproper left sleeve slightly to the left. This is shown more clearly with infrared reflectography andphotographs,[2] which also indicate that he made changes to the fingers of the sitter’s clasped hands. The
infrared images show parallel diagonal scratches through ground in the sitter’s proper right arm and his face.
The painting is in good condition. The paint and ground are fractured and chipped along the edges, which isfurther indication that the panel may have been trimmed. In addition to these losses, there are minor paintlosses in the drapery and along the edges.

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. Ian Tyers, dendochronological report, November 2010. In an undated dendochronological report, Dr.
Peter proposed an earliest felling date of 1623 and a plausible creation date of 1631.
2. Infrared photographs were taken at 780, 850, and 1000 nm. The parameters of the infrared
reflectography are unknown.

© 2024 The Leiden Collection