Gerrit Dou (Dutch, 1613-75)

Lady Playing a Virginal Oil on oak panel (37.7 x 29.8cm) Painted in Leiden, 1660-5

In his life-time Dou's work was more valued than any other Dutch artist. Contemporaries admired his almost miraculous depiction of minute detail, but now this type of craftsmanship can be thought 'mechanical', merely the result of patient labour rather than imaginative skill. In fact Dou has thought through every aspect of his recreation of the scene, especially the way light strikes different surfaces. Light is absorbed by the girl's frizzy hair like a cloud; it makes a sheen on the silks and velvets; it picks up the weave of the tapestry; it glows on the wood of the viola da gamba; it almost swallows up the flowers on the window. It is no surprise that the most famous painter of light, Vermeer, was inspired by this painting. There is no obvious subject here; it is merely a depiction of everyday life. This means that the original viewer would have gazed at a familiar world and seen a familiar-looking girl gazing back. We seem to have disturbed her playing. Perhaps she is inviting us to pick up the flute or the viola da gamba and strike up a duet?