4J4 GERARD DOU SECT. from a branch of which a lighted lamp is suspended. A skull and a bottle are at the base of the crucifix. Signed in full and dated 1664 ; panel, n| inches by loj inches. Pendant to the "Hermit" at Amsterdam (12). In the collection of Johannes Lubbeling, The Hague (Hoet, ii. 517). Sales. Choiseul Praslin, Paris, February 18, 1793 (3010 francs). Choiseul Praslin, Paris, May 9, 1808 (1200 francs, Paillet). Schamp d'Aveschoot, Ghent, September 14, 1840, No. 213 (1000 francs); said to have been in the collection of "Jhoun Schiom- phen " (?). 199. A HERMIT BY CANDLELIGHT. M. 311. The hermit kneels, facing left. The picture is very delicately and carefully painted. The varnish is very yellow, but the picture is well preserved. Now in the collection of Lord Brownlow, Belton House, Grantham. 200. A HERMIT BY CANDLELIGHT. Sm. 17 ; M. 43 and 312. A hermit sits, facing left, in a grotto. He is praying ; his clasped hands rest on a Bible. In front of him are a lantern with a lighted candle, a small crucifix, a skull, a calabash, and a basket. To the right is a withered tree. Signed in full on the crucifix ; copper, 8 inches by 6 inches. Sale. (Probably) W. Lormier, July 4, 1763, No. 69 (130 florins, Rouge) ; copper, measuring 9 inches by 7 inches. Lormier bought it from Van Sommeren, August 4, 1756 (211 florins). This is the only " Hermit " known to have been painted on copper. Formerly attributed to Schalcken, now to Dou (see Frimmel in " Mitteilungen der K. K. Centralcommission fur Erhaltung und Erforschung der Kunst- und historischen Denkmale," 1893). Martin thinks it has more of the style of Schalcken than of Dou. Probably the attribution to Dou is correct, though the picture is unimportant and very dark. Now in the Landesgalerie, Linz, 1893 catalogue, No. 35. 201. A HERMIT BY CANDLELIGHT. M. 310 and 312*. An old man with a white beard reads a large illustrated folio by candle- light. He faces the spectator, and has placed his book on some ruined masonry, in front of which is a skull. The picture was formerly enclosed in a case having doors painted with still-life groups (392). Panel, 12 inches by 9 inches. In the inventory of the Elector of Hessen-Kassel's collection, Schloss Altstadt, 1783, No. 112. In the collection of the Marquess of Hertford. Now in the Wallace Collection, 1901 catalogue, No. 170. 202. A Hermit at Prayer. A hermit kneels before a crucifix and an open Bible in a ruined vault. A ray of light from without and a lighted candle illumine the scene. A lantern, a charred post, and a cask are among the accessories. Panel, about 26 inches by 19 inches, with rounded top. Sales. Van Leyden, Paris, September 10, 1804 (42,000 francs, Paillet pere). Al. Paillet, Paris, June 2, 1814 (15,000 francs).
