“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
Frans van Mieris(Leiden 1635 – 1681 Leiden)

ca. 1667
oil on oval panel
11 x 8.2 cm
FM-123© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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How to cite
Buvelot, Quentin. ““Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress” (2020). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rd ed. Edited by Arthur
K. Wheelock Jr. and Lara Yeager-Crasselt. New York, 2020–23. https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/ (archived
December 2023).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by apermanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs.

In “Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress, Frans van Mieris indulged himself to the fullest

Comparative Figureswith colorful, imaginary clothing elements, particularly his red velvet beret with white
ostrich feather and the multicolored scarf knotted behind his head that holds thefeather in place. A loosely pleated white linen shirt and a black jerkin with slashedopenings are visible beneath the fur-trimmed robe around his shoulders. The pearl
earring dangling from his ear reinforces the exotic nature of this wardrobe, which was
unlike attire worn in the Dutch Republic. The same distinctive combination ofheadgear—red velvet beret, colored scarf, and feather—appears in Van Mieris’s Man
in Oriental Dress, 1665, in the Mauritshuis, where the figure, appropriately, stands
next to a column before a foreign, mountainous landscape (fig 1).[1]As is characteristic for this Leiden fijnschilder (“fine painter”), Van Mieris applied
the paint thinly and smoothly in this small oval panel painting while, at the same time,varying his strokes to model the face, fur, and jerkin. Judging from the extremely
fine elaboration of the details, Van Mieris intended this small treasure to be seenFig 1. Frans van Mieris the Elder,
Man in Oriental Dress, 1665, oil on
panel, 14.9 x 11.2 cm, Mauritshuis,
The Hague, inv. no. 1163.

closely, and without doubt, art lovers would have held this painting in their hands toadmire its outstanding technique. They would have equally admired the lively,
scrunched-up expression of the middle-aged, mustached subject, who looks as though
he is reacting to something slightly unappealing.
Whether Van Mieris’s main interest was to express a certain emotion or to show afigure in fanciful dress, the sitter’s features clearly resemble those of the artist
himself. However, this small painting, despite its title, is not a self-portrait, but rather
an expressive character study known as a tronie. “Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress is
closely related to another Van Mieris tronie in The Leiden Collection, “Self-Portrait”© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
Page 3 of 10with a Plumed Beret (fig 2), where the artist, wearing a similar red velvet beret andcolored scarf, expresses surprise.[2] Van Mieris learned the art of making tronies inLeiden from his teacher, Gerrit Dou (1613–75), as well as from Rembrandt van Rijn
(1606–69), who did more than any other artist to popularize tronies in his paintingsand prints (fig 3).[3] For modern-day viewers, the distinction between tronies and selfportraits can be difficult to discern, but seventeenth-century inventories often make aclear division.[4] One has to remember that the word self-portrait only came into use
in the nineteenth century; if one wished to speak of a Rembrandt self-portrait, one
described it as “Rembrandt’s likeness done by himself” or “the portrait of Rembrandt
painted by himself.”[5]That this painting was recognized as a tronie can be deduced from the inventories of
its early owners, among them Jan van Beuningen (1667–1720), a man of standing in
the art world and a banker and merchant in the Baltic, and Pieter de la Court van derFig 2. Frans van Mieris the Elder,"Self-Portrait" with a Plumed Beret,
1668, oil on oval panel, 11.3 x 8.2 cm,
The Leiden Collection, New York,
inv. no. FM-108.

Voort (1664–1739), an extremely wealthy cloth merchant and a famous collector who
had a penchant for works by the Leiden fijnschilders.[6] De la Court van der Voortassembled a large body of works by Dou and Van Mieris in his house on Rapenburg
26 in Leiden.[7] In a 1731 inventory of his collection, the little painting by Van Mieris
is mentioned for the first time as “Een Persiaantje met een tulbant” (A little Persian
with a turban).[8] After Allard de la Court van der Voort (1677–1755) inherited thepanel from his father, it was listed in his 1749 inventory as “An oval being a Persianor Turkish figure with a Turban on the head.”[9] In 1766, the painting was sold at
public auction from the collection of his widow, Catharina Backer (1689–1766),
again as “A Persian.”[10]Van Mieris’s painting was soon acquired by the famous Leipzig banker Gottfried
Winckler (1731–95), who included it in the extensive catalogue of his collection
published in 1768.[11] Johann Friedrich Bause (1738–1814) made an engraving afterFig 3. Rembrandt van Rijn, SelfPortrait in a Cap, Wide-Eyed and OpenMouthed, 1630, etching, 51 x 45 mm,
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no.
RP-P-OB-697.

Van Mieris’s painting when it was in Leipzig, giving it the title Der Persianer (The
Persian).

Jean-François-André

Duval(1776–1854)

from

Saint

subsequently acquired Van Mieris’s painting from one of Winckler’s heirs.

Petersburg[12]

When itwas in his collection, Ignaz Sebastian Klauber (1753–1817), or one of his studioassistants, made a reproductive engraving after the painting from a drawing by Pavel
Nikolaivich Michailoff (1786–1840) (fig 4). Although Klauber’s engraving appearedin the 1846 catalogue of Duval’s collection, by that time Duval had already sold thecollection to Napoleon III’s half-brother, Charles-August-Louis-Joseph (1811–65),
Duc de Morny, who lived in Paris, but who dispersed many of his newly acquired
paintings in London.[13]Van Mieris’s painting seems to have remained in England until 1903, when theGerman-Jewish banker Max Steinthal (1850–1940), famous for financing Berlin’s

Fig 4. Ignaz Sebastian Klauber (and/or
studio), after a drawing by Pavel© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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metropolitan railway, acquired it. Wilhelm von Bode (1845–1929), director of the
Berlin museums, advised Steinthal and his wife and probably recommended thepurchase of this panel.[14] In 1935, the Nazis forced Max Steinthal to resign from theDeutsche Bank, and the collection that he and his wife had formed was

Nikolaivich Michailoff, after Frans
van Mieris the Elder, Man in Persian
Dress, in or after 1812, engraving, 112
x 84 mm, RKD – Netherlands Institutefor Art History, The Hague, inv. no.
BD/0676.

confiscated—a fate this painting escaped. The couple’s daughter, Eva Steinthal, had
always kept this small panel; she sold it at auction in 2012.[15] Prior to that time, its
appearance was only known through the two early nineteenth-century engravings.[16]Although recent examinations have found no trace of a signature or date on the panel,old sources indicate that it once bore a date of 1667, which is entirely consistent withthe artist’s style at that period of his career.[17] Two early copies of Van Mieris’s
tronie—one can be tentatively attributed to Willem van Mieris (1662–1747), theartist’s son (fig 5)—indicate that this painting had a certain renown during and after
his lifetime.[18] After The Leiden Collection acquired this wonderful little gem in
2017, it found a home among many paintings by Van Mieris and other Leiden finepainters.

Fig 5. Attributed to Willem van
Mieris, Man in Oriental Costume, oilon copper, 12.8 x 10.2 cm, Private
Collection, © Christie’s Images
Limited (2020).

- Quentin Buvelot, 2020

© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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Endnotes
1. For this painting, see Quentin Buvelot, ed., Frans van Mieris 1635–1681 (Exh. cat. The Hague,
Mauritshuis; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art) (New Haven, 2005), no. 34.
2. See the remarks in Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder (Doornspijk, 1981), 1: 72
and 126n205; see also the entry “Self-Portrait” with a Plumed Beret in this catalogue.
3. Interestingly, both Rembrandt and Van Mieris made “official” self-portraits at the same time that theyused their own faces in tronies.
4. This is clear from the inventory of the Leiden collector Franciscus de le Boë Sylvius (1614–72), one of
Van Mieris’s Leiden patrons. The document made a distinction between the portraits and tronies of Van
Mieris in the collection, even though the painter and his wife were recognized in each; see Eric Jan
Sluijter, Marlies Enklaar, and Paul Nieuwenhuizen, eds., Leidse fijnschilders: Van Gerrit Dou tot Frans
van Mieris de Jonge, 1630–1760 (Exh. cat. Leiden, Museum De Lakenhal) (Zwolle, 1988), 133.
5. See Ernst van de Wetering, “The Multiple Functions of Rembrandt’s Self Portraits,” in Rembrandt byHimself, ed. Christopher White and Quentin Buvelot (Exh. cat. London, National Gallery; The Hague,
Mauritshuis) (Zwolle, 1999), esp. 19–22.
6. Interestingly, De la Court van der Voort would become an important patron of Van Mieris’s son,Willem, to whom one of the existing versions of the present painting has been tentatively attributed (seefig 5). Cornelia Willemijn Fock, “Willem van Mieris en zijn mecenas Pieter de la Court van der Voort,”
Leids Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 2 (1983): 261–82.
7. In 1711, Zacharias von Uffenbach (1683–1734), a famous German traveler, greatly admired thepaintings by Dou and Van Mieris in the De la Court van der Voort collection. However, he did not
specifically mention the painting discussed here in his travel accounts; see Zacharias Conrad vonUffenbach, Merkwürdige Reisen durch Niedersachsen, Holland und England (Ulm, 1754), 3: 421.
8. Gemeente Archief Leiden, Archief de la Court, inv. 132; quoted in Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris(1635–1681) the Elder (Doornspijk, 1981), 1: 207.
9. In translation; Gemeente Archief Leiden, Archief de la Court, inv. 117A; quoted in Otto Naumann,Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder (Doornspijk, 1981), 1: 207; see also Peter Hecht, De Hollandse
fijnschilders: Van Gerard Dou tot Adriaen van der Werff (Exh. cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)(Amsterdam, 1989), 88n2.
10. Gerard Hoet and Pieter Terwesten, Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen, met derzelver pryzen (The
Hague, 1770), 3: 545–6, no. 23.
11. Franz Wilhelm Kreuchauf, Historische Erklærungen der Gemälde, welche Herr Gottfried Winkler in
Leipzig gesammlet (Leipzig, 1768), 174, no. 432; see Dieter Gleisberg, “‘Liebe zur Kunst und besonders
zur Mahlerey’: Die Gemäldesammlung des Leipziger Bankiers Gottfried Winckler,” Leipziger Almanach© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
Page 6 of 10(2011–12): 117–96. The 1768 catalogue counts 628 paintings, including works by Albrecht Dürer(1471–1528), Hans Holbein (1497/8–1543), and Rembrandt, and at the time of Winckler’s death, thecollection of paintings had more than doubled in size, to about 1300 paintings, including Woman
Reading and a Man Seated at a Table, another painting by Van Mieris now in The Leiden Collection.
Watercolor drawings by Christian Friedrich Wiegand (1748–1824) show the rich interior of Winckler’shouse in Leipzig; see Gleisberg, “‘Liebe zur Kunst und besonders zur Mahlerey,’” 149, fig. 33.
12. Dieter Gleisberg, “‘Liebe zur Kunst und besonders zur Mahlerey’: Die Gemäldesammlung des Leipziger
Bankiers Gottfried Winckler,” Leipziger Almanach (2011–12): 160–62. François Duval’s collector’smark, the initials “FD,” can be found on the back of this panel (see also Frans van Mieris, Woman
Reading and a Man Seated at a Table in The Leiden Collection). Duval was court jeweller to the RussianTsar.
13. Dieter Gleisberg, “‘Liebe zur Kunst und besonders zur Mahlerey’: Die Gemäldesammlung des Leipziger
Bankiers Gottfried Winckler,” Leipziger Almanach (2011–12): 162.
14. Willy Kurth, Die Kunst im Hause Steinthal 1889–1914 (Berlin, 1914), no. 15, as in the manner of Ary deVois.
15. In 2004, the Steinhal collection was found in a German storage unit and returned to the rightful heirs.
This painting was one of the few not seized by the Nazis. W. Michael Blumenthal, Max Steinthal: Ein
Bankier und Seine Bilder (Berlin, 2004).
16. Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder (Doornspijk, 1981), 2: 84, no. 70 (aswhereabouts unknown, with brief mention of the two known prints after this painting); for more details,
see Versions.
17. See technical report by Kristin de Ghetaldi, April 2017. In Van Mieris’s paintings, some signatures are
known to have disappeared during cleaning and restoration in the past. The date was mentioned in old
sources, see Franz Wilhelm Kreuchauf, Historische Erklærungen der Gemälde, welche Herr Gottfried
Winkler in Leipzig gesammlet (Leipzig, 1768), 174, no. 432 (as dated 1667); Cornelis Hofstede de Groot,
A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Basedon the Work of John Smith, ed. and trans. Edward G. Hawke (London, 1928), 10: 64–5, no. 240 (asdated 1667); see also Quentin Buvelot, under “List of Frans van Mieris’s Paintings and Drawings,” inFrans van Mieris 1635–1681, ed. Quentin Buvelot (Exh. cat. The Hague, Mauritshuis; Washington,
D.C., National Gallery of Art) (New Haven, 2005), 235, no. 70.
18. Both are painted on copper and turned up in 2019, in Belgium and France (see Versions). The author ismost grateful to Otto Naumann for his help in cataloguing these versions (mail correspondence, Octoberand November 2019). The painting in France came to our attention via an email sent 15 February 2019
to the present author by G. Albers, a paintings conservator in Paris who restored the work in question.
According to Naumann, the copy in France is of lesser quality and probably later than the superior copy
in Belgium. Otto Naumann, Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) the Elder (Doornspijk, 1981), 2: 84, no. 70a;and forthcoming sale, Christie’s, New York, 2020, which may tentatively be attributed to Van Mieris’sson, Willem van Mieris. As Naumann’s no. 70a is painted on copper, it is clearly not identical to the© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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panel described here, as was suggested in the sale catalogue of Sotheby’s, London, 5 December 2012,
no. 6.

ProvenanceJan van Beuningen (1667–1720), Amsterdam (to Pieter de la Court van der Voort for 120 florins).
Pieter de la Court van der Voort (1664–1739), Leiden, before 1731; by descent to Catherina Backer, hisson’s widow (her sale, Leiden, 8 September 1766, no. 23 [to H. de Winter for 470 florins]).
Gottfried Winckler (1731–95), Leipzig, by 1768.
François Jean-André (François) Duval (1776–1854), Saint Petersburg and Geneva, by 1812 (to Charles
de Morny).
Charles Auguste Louis Joseph (Charles) de Morny (1811–65), Duke of Morny, Paris, 1845 (“Duval”
sale, Phillips, London, 12 May 1846, no. 42 [for £525]).[1]Private collection (sale, London, Christie’s, 21 February 1903, no. 80 [to Schroeder for £38]).
Max Steinthal (1850–1940), Berlin, by 1909; and by descent to the Steinthal Community of Heirs (sale,
Sotheby’s, London, 5 December 2012, no. 6 [to Johnny Van Haeften, Ltd.])[Johnny Van Haeften, Ltd., London]
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2017.

Provenance Notes

1. Frans van Mieris’s Woman Reading and a Man Seated at a Table, now in The Leiden Collection, wasalso sold in the “Duval” Sale at Phillips in London on 12 May 1846 (no. 99).

Exhibition History
Berlin, Königliche Kunstakademie, “Ausstellung von Bildnissen des fünfzehnten bis achtzehnten
Jahrhunderts aus dem Privatbesitz der Mitglieder des Vereins,” 31 March–30 April 1909, no. 84 [lent by
Max Steinthal].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden
Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017, no. 40 [lent by the present owner].
Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund, “Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age:
Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection,” 23 September 2017–25 February 2018, no. 40 [lent by thepresent owner].
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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of The Leiden Collection,” 28 March–22 July 2018, no. 36 [lent by the present owner].
St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, “The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces of
The Leiden Collection,” 5 September 2018–13 January 2019, no. 36 [lent by the present owner].

References
Possibly Von Uffenbach, Zacharias Conrad. Merkwürdige Reisen durch Niedersachsen, Holland undEngelland. Ulm, 1754, 3: 421.
Kreuchauf, Franz Wilhelm. Historische Erklærungen der Gemælde, welche Herr Gottfried Winkler in
Leipzig gesammlet. Leipzig, 1768, 174, no. 432.
Hoet, Gerard, and Pieter Terwesten. Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen, met derzelver pryzen, zedert
een langen reeks van jaaren zoo. The Hague, 1770, 3: 545–46, no. 23.
Moes, Ernst Wilhelm. Iconographia Batava: Beredeneerde lijst van geschilderde en gebeeldhouwde
portretten van Noord-Nederlanders in vorige eeuwen. Amsterdam, 1905, 2: 103, no. 31.
Königliche Kunstakademie. Illustrierter Katalog der Ausstellung von Bildnissen des fünfzehnten bis
achtzehnten Jahrhunderts aus dem Privatbesitz der Mitglieder des Vereins. 3rd revised edition. Berlin,
1909, 15, no. 84.
Kurth, Willy. Die Kunst im Hause Steinthal. 1889–1914. Berlin, 1914, plate IV, no. 4; no. 15 (as in themanner of Ary de Vois).
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten
holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. Nach dem Muster von John Smith’s Catalogue
Raisonné. Stuttgart, 1928, 10: 64–65, no. 240 (as a self-portrait).
Van Hall, Hendrick. Portretten van Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars. Amsterdam, 1963, 211, no. 7(as a self-portrait).
Naumann, Otto. Frans van Mieris (1635–1681) The Elder. Doornspijk, 1981, 1: 72, 126n205, 207; 2:84, no. 70.
Fock, Cornelia Willemijn. “Willem van Mieris en zijn mecenas Pieter de la Court van der Voort.” Leids
Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 2 (1983): 280n14.
Hecht, Peter. De Hollandse fijnschilders: Van Gerard Dou tot Adriaen van der Werff. Exh. cat.
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam, 1989, 88, fig. 15a.
Lunsingh Scheurleer, Theodoor Hermann, Cornelia Willemijn Fock, and A.J. van Dissel. Het
Rapenburg: Geschiedenis van een Leidse gracht. Leiden, 1992, 6a: 351, 353, fig. 50.
Buvelot, Quentin, and Otto Naumann. “List of Frans van Mieris’ Paintings and Drawings.” In Frans van
Mieris 1635–1681. Edited by Quentin Buvelot, 235, no. 70. Exh. cat. The Hague, Mauritshuis;
Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art. Zwolle, 2005.
Aono, Junko. Confronting the Golden Age: Imitation and Innovation in Dutch Genre Painting in© 2024 The Leiden Collection

“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
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1680–1750. Amsterdam, 2015, 70, 140n74.
Long Museum, West Bund. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals in the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces fromThe Leiden Collection. Exh. cat. Shanghai, Long Museum, West Bund. Shanghai, 2017, 114, no. 40.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Tronie Self-Portrait of the Artist, Bust-Length, Wearing a Turban Crowned witha Feather, and Fur-Trimmed Robe.” In Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden
Collection. Edited by Lara Yeager-Crasselt. Translated by Li Ying, 101; 181, no. 40. Exh. cat. Beijing,
National Museum of China. Beijing, 2017.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “The Leiden Collection and the Dutch Golden Age.” In The Age of Rembrandt
and Vermeer: Masterpieces of The Leiden Collection. Edited by Polina Lyubimova. Translated by Daria
Babich and Daria Kuzina, 17, 29. Exh. cat. Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; St.
Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum. Moscow, 2018.
Yeager-Crasselt, Lara. “Tronie Self-Portrait of the Artist, Bust-Length, Wearing a Turban Crowned witha Feather, and Fur-Trimmed Robe.” In The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer: Masterpieces of The Leiden
Collection. Edited by Polina Lyubimova. Translated by Daria Babich and Daria Kuzina, 138–39; 238, no.
36. Exh. cat. Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage
Museum. Moscow, 2018.

Versions
Versions
1. Attributed to Willem van Mieris, after Frans van Mieris the Elder, A Man in Oriental Costume, oil on
oval copper, 12.9 x 10.3 cm, Private Collection, Belgium, 2019.

2. After Frans van Mieris the Elder, oil on oval copper, dimensions unknown, Private Collection, Sèvres,France, 2019.

Prints
1. Johann Friedrich Bause (1738–1814), after Frans van Mieris the Elder, Der Persianer, 1769, etching andengraving, 270 x 191 mm, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, inv. no. JFBause V 3.258a.

2. Ignaz Sebastian Klauber (1753–1817) and/or studio, after a drawing by Pavel Nikolaivich Michailoff(1786–1840), after Frans van Mieris the Elder, Man in Persian Dress, in or after 1812, engraving, 112 x
84 mm, RKD – The Netherlands Institute of Art, The Hague, inv. no. BD/0676.

Technical Summary© 2024 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)“Self-Portrait” in Fanciful Dress
Page 10 of 10

The oval-shaped panel has been cut from a single piece of vertically grained wood; the verso of the panel’s
circumference is entirely beveled.[1] The panel has three red-wax seals on the verso, each with discernible
markings.
A thin, light-colored ground has been evenly applied across the entire panel, although only portions of thecomposition were covered with a gray-brown imprimatura layer. The overlying paint has been applied thinly
and smoothly, with transparent glazes applied to the dark background, red turban, and fur lining of thecostume.[2] Two curious parallel strokes of paint are visible in the black and white portion of the sitter’s
costume near the lower section of the picture. They may have been intentional even though they resemble
accidental swipes through wet paint. The artist deftly modelled the opaque flesh tones while allowing thegray-brown imprimatura to remain in reserve. In other areas, this imprimatura layer was used to create midtones between lighter passages and shadows.
Minor, scattered retouching can be seen throughout the picture, with the largest loss located along the proper,
right edge.[3] Overall the paint, ground, and varnish layers are stable and in good condition.
– Kristin deGhetaldi, 2020

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. The wooden support is presumably oak; however, no information pertaining to wood identification or
dendrochronological analysis was provided at the time of this report.
2. No infrared photography/reflectography or x-radiography had been carried out at the time of this report.
3. Retouching is readily visible under long-wave ultraviolet illumination. In addition, the autofluorescenceof the varnish suggests that it is a natural resin varnish (such as mastic or dammar).

© 2024 The Leiden Collection