TOL, Domenicus van

(b. ~1635 Bodegraven, d. 1676 Leiden)

Dutch painter. He trained with his uncle, Gerrit Dou, and probably remained in his master’s studio for quite some time. They appear to have maintained close relations right up until Dou’s death. Van Tol was admitted as an independent master into the Leiden guild only in 1664.

After his marriage in 1670, he spent time in Utrecht and Amsterdam, but by 1675 he was back in Leiden. He seems to have been unable to support his family by painting because he applied for a license to open an alehouse, although his death prevented him from fulfilling this plan.

Despite adopting his master’s “fine-painting” style, the works of Domenicus van Tol are easy to distinguish. They may have the same subject, motif and method of composition as Dou’s, but small differences as well as a slightly rustic character, obviously, a somewhat less fine technique, give them away.

Children with a Mousetrap

Dou’s compositional innovation was the “niche” painting, which is represented by this painting by Domenicus van Tol. The window-ledge defines the foreground and marks the entrance into the virtual world of the painting, while the potted plant in front of it seems to protrude into the viewer’s own space. This trompe-l’oeil effect is further enhanced by the arrangement of the striped curtain, fixed inside the room but draped outside the window frame.

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Portrait of a Young Painter

The attribution of this painting is not certain, although scholars have long recognized that it must have been produced in the Leiden school of ‘fijnschilders’. However, similarities with a few signed works by Domenicus van Tol might serve as a basis for the attribution to this painter.

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