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| The Quack (detail), 1652; oil on panel, rounded top, 112 x 83 (44 1/8 x 32 3/4), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam |
Background
The building in the background -- the Blauwpoort (Blue Port) -- marked the city limits of Leiden. It did not assume the form in which it is shown here until 1667, fifteen years after Dou dated the panel. It seems probable that Dou began the painting in 1652 and reworked it at a later date to include the renovated form of the Blauwport's tower.
