Christie’s will offer Gerrit Dou’s "The Flute Player" (ca. 1636) as the leading lot in its Old Masters Evening Sale on December 2 in London. The painting, Dou’s first depiction of a musician, carries an estimate of £2 million to £3 million ($2.6 million–$4 million). It has been in an English collection for 125 years, previously owned by William Proby, Fifth Earl of Carysfort, and is appearing on the market for the first time in over a century.
The sale matters because Dou was a student of Rembrandt and one of the most successful Dutch Golden Age artists, yet his works rarely come to auction. The estimate is roughly half his current auction record of $7.1 million, set at Christie’s in 2023, making this a significant test of demand for early Dutch masterpieces. The painting’s vanitas symbolism and direct gaze exemplify Dou’s distinctive style, which continues to captivate collectors and connoisseurs.