An Interior with a Young Viola Player

This is the earliest dated painting by Dou. In it, a young musician looks up, his playing momentarily interrupted. Dou took evident delight in the play of light and shadow, and the rendering of surface textures, especially reflective materials. The musician is surrounded by books, music and a globe, which allude to learning. This reference is appropriate for Leiden, a distinguished university city, and the location of Dou's workshop. Pieter Spiering, Swedish envoy in the Netherlands (1637-1649) offered the painting to Queen Christina of Sweden in 1652

Credit: Purchased with the aid of the National Heritage Memorial Fund 1984