This book begins with the question of why and how creative repetition came to be an esteemed form of invention to artists and viewers in the seventeenth-century Dutch art market. The three case studies consider how, and under what conditions, appropriations, citations, and reiterations were closely tied to innovation and the projection of unique artistic identities. While collectors in the seventeenth century certainly did not demand originality in the form of radical departures from artistic tradition—that idea would not emerge until the late nineteenth century—I suggest that viewers found certain forms of repetition not merely acceptable, but indeed desirable in paintings. The paintings by Dou, Ter Borch, and Van Mieris demonstrate that prominent artists in the period engaged in practices of inventive repetition—in the form of strategic appropriations from artistic precedents and purposeful self-citations—to enhance the value of their work. I would like to conclude this study, however, with a look at forms of repeated imagery that were more readily attributable to commercial motives. These practices, including close imitations of a famous master's work to take advantage of his/her celebrity, and the use of templates in workshops, serve as a foil to underscore the deliberate nature of the creative repetitions explored in this book.

Dominicus van Tol's Woman in a Window, Holding a Dead Fowl (Fig. 65), now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, illustrates the artist's strong affinity with Dou. The composition bears a resemblance to Dou's Girl with a Basket of Fruit at a Window at the Waddesdon Manor (Fig. 14) and Woman Hanging a Rooster at a Window in the Louvre (Fig. 10). Van Tol borrows Dou's niche picture format, framing the female figure in an arched window. He also imitates Dou's meticulous technique in this painting. The face of the female figure is executed with considerable care through fine, softly blended brushstrokes. Her eyes are fully modeled, and the strands of her hair are articulated through individual curving strokes. Van Tol's delicate touch is most clearly visible in the rendering of the bird. Numerous short, tapering strokes are used to simulate the feathers, and the layering of the strokes of different hues enhances the sense of volume. Other parts of the painting do not, however, show the same level of skill.