DOUVILLE

douville, jean baptiste (1794?-1837), french traveller, was born at hambye, in the department of manche. having at an early age inherited a fortune, he decided to gratify his taste for foreign travel. according to his own profession he visited india, kashmir, khorasan, persia, asia minor and many parts of europe. in 1826 he went to south america, and in 1827 left brazil for the portuguese possessions on the west coast of africa, where his presence in march 1828 is proved by the mention made of him in letters of castillo branco, the governor-general of loanda. in may 1831 he reappeared in france, claiming to have pushed his explorations into the very heart of central africa. his story was readily accepted by the societe de geographie of paris, which hastened to recognize his services by assigning him the great gold medal, and appointing him their secretary for the year 1832. on the publication of his narrative, _voyage au congo et dans l'interieur de l'afrique equinoxiale_, which occupied three volumes and was accompanied by an elaborate atlas, public enthusiasm ran high. before the year 1832 was out, however, it was established that douville's _voyage_ was romance and not verity. he had probably been inspired by the appearance of rene caillie's account of his journey to timbuktu, and wished to obtain a share of the fame attaching to african explorers. douville tried vainly to establish the truth of his story in _ma defense_ (1832), and _trente mois de ma vie, ou quinze mois avant et quinze mois apres mon voyage au congo_ (1833). mlle audrun, a lady to whom he was about to be married, committed suicide from grief at the disgrace; and the adventurer withdrew in 1833 to brazil, and proceeded to make explorations in the valley of the amazon. according to dr g. gardner, in his _travels in the interior of brazil_ (1846), he was murdered in 1837 on the banks of the sao francisco for charging too high for his medical assistance. douville may well have explored part of the province of angola, and sir richard burton maintained that the frenchman's descriptions of the country of the congo were lifelike; that his observations on the anthropology, ceremonies, customs and maladies of the people were remarkably accurate; and that even the native words used in his narrative were "for the most part given with unusual correctness." it has been shown, however, that the chief source of douville's inspiration was a number of unpublished portuguese manuscripts to which he had access. douw (or dow), gerhard (1613-1680), dutch painter, was born at leiden on the 7th of april 1613. his first instructor in drawing and design was bartholomew dolendo, an engraver; and he afterwards learned the art of glass-painting under peter kouwhoorn. at the age of fifteen he became a pupil of rembrandt, with whom he continued for three years. from the great master of the flemish school he acquired his skill in colouring, and in the more subtle effects of chiaroscuro; and the style of rembrandt is reflected in several of his earlier pictures, notably in a portrait of himself at the age of twenty-two, in the bridgewater house gallery, and in the "blind tobit going to meet his son," at wardour castle. at a comparatively early point in his career, however, he had formed a manner of his own distinct from, and indeed in some respects antagonistic to, that of his master. gifted with unusual clearness of vision and precision of manipulation, he cultivated a minute and elaborate style of treatment; and probably few painters ever spent more time and pains on all the details of their pictures down to the most trivial. he is said to have spent five days in painting a hand; and his work was so fine that he found it necessary to manufacture his own brushes. notwithstanding the minuteness of his touch, however, the general effect was harmonious and free from stiffness, and his colour was always admirably fresh and transparent. he was fond of representing subjects in lantern or candle light, the effects of which he reproduced with a fidelity and skill which no other master has equalled. he frequently painted by the aid of a concave mirror, and to obtain exactness looked at his subject through a frame crossed with squares of silk thread. his practice as a portrait painter, which was at first considerable, gradually declined, sitters being unwilling to give him the time that he deemed necessary. his pictures were always small in size, and represented chiefly subjects in still life. upwards of 200 are attributed to him, and specimens are to be found in most of the great public collections of europe. his _chef-d'oeuvre_ is generally considered to be the "woman sick of the dropsy," in the louvre. the "evening school," in the amsterdam gallery, is the best example of the candlelight scenes in which he excelled. in the national gallery, london, favourable specimens are to be seen in the "poulterer's shop," and a portrait of himself. douw's pictures brought high prices, and it is said that president van spiring of the hague paid him 1000 florins a year simply for the right of pre-emption. douw died in 1680. his most celebrated pupil was francis mieris.