A Young Woman Drawing Water from a Well

This genre painting portrays a young woman within a transformed courtyard, originally a ruined building, as she collects water from a well. The idealised scene features a table adorned with pottery, fruit, and flowers, symbolising the abundance and vitality of life, juxtaposed against the dilapidated structure. In the background, a landscape view of a medieval city and mountains enhances the setting. The painting’s rich detail and vibrant colours transport the viewer to a scene of domestic tranquillity and bliss.

However, in the bottom right hand corner amidst the scattered vegetables on the floor, a toad lays hidden. To contemporary viewers this creature was seen as a vile familiar of witches, symbolising death and the agonies of the damned. The toad, steeped in legends, was thought to wield sinister powers, capable of cursing crops and spreading misfortune. Its presence served as a chilling reminder of the malevolent forces lurking just beyond the everyday world.

Manner of Gerrit Dou

Gerrit Dou, a prominent Dutch painter until the early 19th century, was renowned for his meticulously detailed scenes of everyday life, often depicted within arched stone openings, known as ‘niche’ paintings. Born in Leiden to a glass engraver, Dou began his artistic training under Rembrandt in 1628 and continued until Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam around 1631. Rembrandt’s influence is evident in Dou’s early works and portraits.

Dou founded the Leiden Fijnschilders, a group of painters known for their fine, small-scale, and meticulous work, which included artists like Gottfried Schalcken and Frans van Mieris. He was also a founding member of the Leiden painters’ guild in 1648. Dou spent his entire career in Leiden, even declining an invitation from Charles II to visit England.

Museums

The National Gallery, London
The Wilson, cheltenham Art Gallery Museum
Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen Preussiescher Kulturbesitz, Berlin
The royal academy of Arts, London
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Maurtshuis, The Hague
The Louvre, Paris
The Wallace Collection, London
The Heritage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
The Getty Centre, Los Angeles
The National Gallery of Art, Washington