''The Woman with Dropsy'' or ''The Dropsical Woman'' is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch artist Gerrit Dou, created ''c.'' 1663. It shows a woman suffering from

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

and is considered as one of Dou's masterpieces. Previously in

Charles Emmanuel IV Charles Emmanuel IV (Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria; 24 May 1751 – 6 October 1819) was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802. He abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I. Biography Carlo Emanuele Ferdinando Maria di Savoia was b ...

's collections, he gave it to Bertrand Clauzel in December 1798. Then adjutant-general to revolutionary France's Armée d'Italie, Clauzel offered it to the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

, which in 1799 added it to the Republic's central art museum (later to become the Louvre Museum), making it the first painting to be donated to that collection and placing Clauzel at the top of the plaque of donors on the "rotonde d'Apollon". It is still in the Louvre as INV. 1213.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman with Dropsy, The Medicine in art 1660s paintings Paintings by Gerrit Dou Paintings in the Louvre by Dutch, Flemish and German artists Genre paintings