Portrait of a Man (Possible SelfPortrait)ca. 1645–50

Attributed to Pieter Verelst

37.3 x 31.8 cm

oil on panel
PV-100© 2018 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)
Page 2 of 6

How To Cite
Rahusen, Henriette. "Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)." In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited
by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York.
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/

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Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)
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The earnest yet slightly bemused young man in this sympathetic portrait

Comparative Figuresbust engages the viewer with a direct gaze. His smooth face and wispy
moustache suggest that he is in his late twenties or early thirties, an age
appropriate for the stylish notched black beret atop his brown curls. The
light illuminating his face and the white, flat collar of his chemise enlivens
the scene by accenting the gold or silver piping of his jacket. The base of aCorinthian column, visible at the right in the darkened background, is a
pictorial element indicating that—despite his relative youth—he is a man ofsubstance and gravitas.
Tree ring analysis of the panel reveals that the portrait was painted
sometime after 1645, a date consistent with the style of the sitter’s long,
curly hair and the shirt’s flat collar.[1] The manner in which the sitter gazes
directly at the viewer suggests that the painting could be a self-portrait,

Fig 1. Rembrandt van Rijn, SelfPortrait at Age 34, 1640, oil oncanvas, 102 x 80 cm, NationalGallery, London, inv. no. NG672,© National Gallery, London / Art
Resource, NY

perhaps patterned after one of Rembrandt’s self-portraits of the late 1630s
and early 1640s (fig 1). Nevertheless, the smooth, refined brushwork is
uncharacteristic of an artist trained in Rembrandt’s workshop. Thisdistinctive stylistic blend of smooth classicism and a Rembrandtesquepose is a fundamental reason for attributing this work to Pieter Verelst,
who, in the late 1640s, would have been about 30 years old, theapproximate age of the sitter.[2] The self-portrait hypothesis is
strengthened by the existence of another bust-length portrait, also
attributed to Verelst (fig 2), in which the same young man similarly
engages the viewer with bold self-confidence.[3]Verelst began his artistic career in his native Dordrecht, probably in themid-1630s. Although it is unclear from whom he learned his craft, given themany

connections

thatexistedbetweenDordrecht

artists

andRembrandt’s workshop during the 1630s and 1640s, it is probable that hewastrained

byanartist

familiarwithRembrandt’s

Fig 2. Pieter Hermansz Verelst,
Portrait of a Young Man, Headand Shoulders, Wearing a Hat
with a Red Feather, ca. 1645, oilon canvas, 63.5 x 53 cm,
Sotheby’s, London, 5 April 1995,
lot 192

stylisticinnovations.[4] Verelst, who joined the Dordrecht painters’ guild in 1638,
was a versatile, even eclectic artist who painted a wide range of subjects
in different styles, among them portraits, tronies, and low-life genre
scenes. In 1643 Verelst moved to The Hague, where he joined the Guild ofSaint Luke that very year. It is not known why he moved there, but it may
have been because he believed he could find clients for portraits among
those associated with the States General or the court of Stadholder
Frederik Hendrik, the Prince of Orange. Indeed, the formal portraits thatVerelst painted in The Hague attest to his considerable skill as an© 2018 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)
Page 4 of 6insightful portraitist, and his ability to adapt to the courtlier stylistic modelof Adriaen Hanneman (ca. 1603/4–71).
After moving to The Hague, Verelst continued to paint images of scholars
and hermits, as well as tronies of young boys or old, bearded men situatedagainst a dark background in a Rembrandtesque manner. The portrait in
the Leiden Collection fits entirely within that tradition. Although the face issmoothly modeled and the sitter has a dignified and elegant presence, as
is appropriate for Verelst’s portrait style in The Hague, the manner inwhich light falls on his face and the way the beret shades his forehead andeyes fully reflects Rembrandt’s manner. If indeed this is a self-portrait,
Verelst’s proud bearing provides a glimpse into the artist’s solid sense ofself, one that undoubtedly reflects the optimism he felt in his new artistic
circumstances.
In 1656, Verelst’s self-assurance allowed him to join Hanneman and46 other artists in breaking away from the Guild of Saint Luke to establish
the Confrerie Pictura, a new professional organization. While Hanneman
served as the Confrerie’s first deacon, the membership regarded Verelst
with sufficient respect to have him follow in Hanneman’s footsteps andelect him deacon in 1659–60. Unfortunately, Verelst’s career did not end
on a positive note. In November 1668 debts and bankruptcy precipitatedVerelst’s sudden departure from The Hague, leaving his creditors a mere
410 guilders worth of possessions.[5] Despite the economic decline at theend of his career, this striking portrait is a testament to his artistic skills.
-Henriette Rahusen-2017© 2018 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)
Page 5 of 6Endnotes
1. See, for example, Frans Hals, René Descartes, ca. 1649, Statens Museum for Kunst,Copenhagen, on permanent loan from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (NCG inv. 998).
2. The painting was attributed to Verelst when it was sold by Sotheby’s, New York, 27 January
2007, lot 555.
3. The second portrait, sold at Sotheby’s, New York, in 1995, was attributed to Verelst byWerner Sumowski. See Sotheby’s, London, Old Master Paintings, sale 5201, 5 April 1995,
lot 192. Catalogue notes indicate that Portrait of a Young Man, Head and Shoulders,
Wearing a Hat with a Red Feather was formerly attributed to Govaert Flinck (1615–60). In
1983, Sumowski reattributed it to Verelst, dating the portrait to the period when Verelst’swork revealed the strong influence of Rembrandt’s work of the 1630s. See Werner
Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler in vier Bänden , 6 vols. (Landau, 1983), 1:83,
97 color repro.
4. The influence of Rembrandt is evident in the work of a number of artists in Dordrecht in the1630s and 1640s, including those who are not documented as the master’s students. Twoartists from Dordrecht who did study with Rembrandt are Ferdinand Bol (1616–80) andSamuel van Hoogstraten (1627–78). The impact of Rembrandt’s style, however, is also
evident in the paintings of Paulus Lesire (1612–54/56) and Benjamin Gerrits Cuyp(1612–52).
5. G. H. Veth, “Aanteekeningen Omtrent Eenige Dordrechtsche Schilders,” Oud Holland 14,
no. 2 (1896): 99–112.

ProvenancePaul Hermann von Schwabach (1867–1938), Berlin, as by Rembrandt.
Frederick Mont (a.k.a. Adolf Frederick Mondschein), New York, 1950, as by Rembrandt.
Sdr. Charles Turner Collection, as by Rembrandt.
(Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 27 January 2007, no 555, as attributed to Pieter Verelst[Salomon Lilian B. V., Amsterdam]).
From whom acquired by the present owner.

Technical Summary© 2018 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Portrait of a Man (Possible Self-Portrait)
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The support, a single plank of vertically grained, rectangular eastern Baltic oak, is derived from atree felled after 1645, and has a conjectural usage date of 1645–77. The wedge-shaped plank isslightly wider than typical eastern Baltic boards and has bevels on all four sides, a steep narrow
one along the left edge.[1] The unthinned and uncradled panel has machine tool marks. A milky
wax coating has been applied to the panel reverse and extends onto the panel edges. A paperlabel remnant has been applied over the wax but there are no wax seals, import stamps, stencils,
inscriptions or panel maker’s marks.
A light-colored ground has been thinly and evenly applied followed by paint built up in successive
thin layers through the background and figure’s hair and hat, with thin paste consistency throughthe figure’s face, and with low impasto highlights along the edge of the figure’s garment. Drying
cracks have formed through all but the more opaquely applied flesh tones, but are mostpronounced in a vertical band along the left third of the composition.
No underdrawing or compositional changes are readily apparent in infrared images captured at
780–1000 nanometers, in the X-radiograph, or as pentimenti.
The painting is unsigned and undated.
The painting has not undergone conservation treatment since its acquisition and remains in agood state of preservation.

Technical Summary Endnotes

1. As viewed from the reverse. The characterization of the wood is based on Ian Tyers’s
November 2010 dendrochronology report.

© 2018 The Leiden Collection