© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
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Portrait of Andries de Graeff(1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
Gerard ter Borch the Younger(Zwolle 1617 – 1681 Deventer)1673
oil on canvas
39.3 x 29 cm
unsigned but inscribed and dated(incorrectly) by a later hand, upper left
corner: “Andries de Graeff lxiii
Jaer M.D.C.LXXIIII”
GB-106

How to cite
Wieseman, Marjorie E. “Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster of Amsterdam” (2017).
In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 2nd ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017–20.
https://theleidencollection.com/artwork/portrait-of-andries-de-graeff/ (archived May 2020).
A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive ismanaged by a permanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative
occurs.

© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
Page 3 of 9Andries de Graeff (1611–78) was one of the wealthiest and most influential[1]

men in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic.

Comparative Figures

He was the son of Jacob

Dircksz de Graeff (several times burgomaster of Amsterdam) and Aeltge
Boelens; through marriage and political affiliation he was allied with thepowerful Bicker family, as well as with the Republican anti-Orangist
raadpensionaris (Grand Pensionary) Johan de Witt (1625–72). In 1646
Andries married his niece, Elisabeth Bicker van Swieten (1623–56), and had
three children by her. Especially after the death of his brother Cornelis in1664, Andries was a dominant force in Amsterdam politics: he served seventerms as burgomaster between 1657 and 1672, and was a member of thevroedschap (city council) between 1665 and 1672. The change ingovernment brought about by the closing of the First Stadholderless Period
and the appointment of Willem III as stadholder of the Netherlands in 1672
signaled the end of De Graeff’s political career.
Around 1670 De Graeff built an impressive house on Amsterdam’s
fashionable Herengracht, which he filled with the fruits of his assiduous
collecting and patronage of the arts, including ceiling paintings by Gerard deFig 1. Rembrandt van Rijn, Portraitof Andries de Graeff, 1639, oil oncanvas, 200 x 125 cm,
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister,
Staatliche Museen, Kassel, inv.
GK 239Lairesse (now in the Vredespaleis, The Hague).[2] De Graeff wasinstrumental in commissioning decorations for Amsterdam’s new Town Hall,and in 1660 helped organize a strategic gift of artworks to King Charles II ofEngland. Alongside his commitment to the visual arts, De Graeff was also
Maecenas to the poets Joost van den Vondel, Jan Vos, Caspar Barlaeus,
and Gerard Brandt.
De Graeff was portrayed on several occasions by some of the most soughtafter artists of the era: in paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69) from1639 (fig 1) and Govaert Flinck (1615–60) from the early 1650s, in a drawing
by Jan Lievens (1607–74) from about 1657 (fig 2), and in a marble bust byArtus Quellinus (1609–68) made in 1661 (fig 3). Painted in 1673, Gerard ter
Borch the Younger’s portrait is the last of these, depicting the subject at theage of sixty-two or sixty-three. De Graeff is dressed plainly, in a blackFig 2. Jan Lievens, Portrait ofAndries de Graeff, black charcoal,
42 x 31 cm, Teylers Museum,Haarlem, Inv. Nr. P.6

doublet and breeches and wearing a simple flat linen collar; with both hands,
he pulls close around him the black cloak draped over his shoulders. On thetable at right is a slim book, closed securely with ribbons and seals. Despite
the sober attire, Ter Borch’s portrait of De Graeff hints discreetly at somepersonal vanity: the man’s luxuriantly full and glossy brown wig is ill matchedto his mustache and carefully clipped mouche, which reveal the silvery hairof a man in his sixties.[3]© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
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Ter Borch painted several portraits of the extended De Graeff family (as wellas other prominent Amsterdam sitters) while in Deventer between 1672 and1674: Andries’s son Cornelis and Cornelis’ wife, Agneta Deutz, and hisnephews Pieter and Jacob de Graeff.[4] The portraits of Andries and Cornelisde Graeff are both inscribed with a date of 1674, which, as Dudok van Heel
has shown, is incorrect. An entry in Pieter de Graeff’s almanac for 22 July
1673 mentions the commission for Ter Borch’s portrait of his brother Jacoband implies that the portrait of Cornelis was already completed by that
date.[5] Presumably Andries’s portrait was painted at about the same time.
Although the inscriptions were added at a later date, they appear to be quite
old (possibly from the eighteenth century); in both instances the painting’s
craquelure also runs through the paint of the inscriptions.[6]Fig 3. Artus Quellinus, Portrait
Bust of Andries de Graeff, 1661,marble, 73 cm high, Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam, inv. BK-18305

Three versions of Ter Borch’s Portrait of Andries de Graeff are extant. The
present version was unknown to scholars until it was exhibited at themonographic Ter Borch exhibition held in The Hague and Münster in 1974.
The painting did not find universal acceptance at the time; Gerson, in his
review of the exhibition, suggested it might be by Caspar Netscher, although
there is no specific stylistic reason to think this is the case.[7] A secondversion of the portrait, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon (fig 4), is probably
a studio work. Another, weaker version, which is slightly larger in itsdimensions, is in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen. Although theLeiden Collection’s painting has probably been trimmed at the sides and at
the top,[8] the excellent condition of the paint surface allows one to appreciate
fully Ter Borch’s sensitive depiction of this imposing individual.

Fig 4. Studio of Gerard ter Borch,
Andries de Graeff, oil on canvas,
39 x 29 cm, Musée des BeauxArts, Dijon, no. CA T 63- Marjorie E. Wieseman, 2017

© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
Page 5 of 9Endnotes

1. For biographical information on De Graeff, see Philip Christian Molhuysen and Petrus
Johannes Blok, eds., Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek (Leiden, 1911–37) 8:
490–92; Wim de Bell and Norbert Middelkoop in Kopstukken: Amsterdammers geportretteerd
1600–1800, ed. Norbert Middelkoop (Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Amsterdams Historisch Museum)(Bussum, 2002), 134, 136; Kees Zandvliet, De 250 rijksten van de Gouden Eeuw: Kapitaal,macht, familie en levensstijl (Amsterdam, 2006), 77–78; and S. A. C. Dudok van Heel, VanAmsterdamse burgers tot Europese aristocraten, 2 vols. (The Hague, 2008), 1: 104.
2. On De Graeff’s collecting and patronage, see S. A. C. Dudok van Heel, “Het Maecenaat deGraeff en Rembrandt,” Maandblad Amstelodamum 56 (1969): 150–55, and G. J. M. Weber,“Dus leeft de dappre Graaf. Zu einem Bildnis Andries de Graeffs von Jan Lievens(1607–1674),” Oud Holland 99 (1985): 48ff.
3. Pieter C. Vis, “Andries de Graeff 1611–1678: ‘t Gezagh is heerelyk; Doch volbekommeringen” (paper submitted to Universiteit van Amsterdam 2010), 16, no. 4.1.3. For acomparison of all the known portraits of Andries de Graeff, see 20, no. 4.1.6.
4. Ter Borch lived in Amsterdam from the spring of 1672, when the forces of the bishop ofMünster and the archbishop of Cologne occupied the city of Deventer, until their withdrawal in
the summer of 1674. For portraits of the De Graeff family, see Portrait of Cornelis de Graeff,
1673, oil on canvas, 38.9 x 28.9 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague, inv. 883; Portrait of Pieter deGraeff, ca. 1673, oil on copper, 36 x 29 cm, private collection; and Portrait of Jacob de Graeff,
1673, oil on panel, 45.5 x 34.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. SK-A-3963. The Portrait ofAgneta Deutz (?) (formerly identified as Elisabeth Bicker van Swieten) is known only througha copy (oil on canvas, 39 x 29 cm, present whereabouts unknown). Sturla J. Gudlaugsson,Geraert ter Borch, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1959–60), 2:226–28, nos. 262, 263, 265, andmentioned under 262a, respectively.
5. “Voor rekening van mijn broeder (Jacob) aen Gerard ter Borch aenbesteed sijn pourtraict om
dat te conterfeijten en soo veel daervoor te betaelen als oom Andries de Graeff voor ’t
conterfeitsel van sijn soon Cornelis de Graeff betaelt heeft.” Gemeentearchief, Amsterdam,Familiearchief de Graeff, no. 194; S. A. C. Dudok van Heel, “In presentie van de Heer Gerard
ter Borch,” in Essays in Northern European Art Presented to Egbert Haverkamp Begemannon His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. Anne Marie Logan (Doornspijk, 1983), 67.
6. The 1712 inventory of Andries de Graeff’s niece, Geertuyd Bicker, and her husband, JoanDeutz (both deceased), mentions several family portraits by or after Ter Borch, including“Conterfijtzel van Andries Graaff door Terbrugge, en vrouw, copy” and “Conterfijtzel vanCornelis de Graaf en sijn vrouw door Ter Brugge.” Gemeentearchief, Amsterdam, NAA 6670,fol. 597, nos. 14 and 32; Getty Provenance Index Databases, Record no. N-621. Ariane van© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
Page 6 of 9Suchtelen (in Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790, ed. Ariane van Suchtelen and Ben
Broos [Zwolle, 2004], 53) has linked the latter reference to Ter Borch’s portrait of Cornelis deGraeff, which in 1903 belonged to the Deutz van Assendelft family. Based on the fact that theportraits of Andries and Cornelis—as well as the copy after Ter Borch’s portrait of Agneta
Deutz, previously thought to be a likeness of Elisabeth Bicker van Swieten—have virtually
identical (eighteenth-century) inscriptions, she has suggested that all three portraits may
share this early provenance. When and how the portrait(s) may have left the family’spossession is not known. The word “copy” at the end of the first listing probably refers to thewoman’s portrait only; compare no. 33 in the inventory, “Conterfijtzel van d’Heer Jan Deutsz
d’oude, copy, en Mevrouw, door Terbrugge.”
7. Horst Gerson, “Gerard ter Borch: Zur Ausstellung im Landesmuseum Münster,” Kunstchronik
27, no. 2 (1974): 374. Netscher is not known to have made copies after paintings by TerBorch after leaving the latter’s studio. Interestingly, in 1674 Ter Borch was commissioned byPieter de Graeff to paint a copy after a portrait of Johan de Witt by Netscher; see S. A. C.
Dudok van Heel, “In presentie van de Heer Gerard ter Borch,” in Essays in Northern
European Art Presented to Egbert Haverkamp Begemann on His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. Anne
Marie Logan (Doornspijk, 1983), 68, and Marjorie E. Wieseman, Caspar Netscher and Late
Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting (Doornspijk, 2002), 239.
8. A. C. Dudok van Heel, “In presentie van de Heer Gerard ter Borch,” in Essays in Northern
European Art Presented to Egbert Haverkamp Begemann on His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. Anne
Marie Logan (Doornspijk, 1983), 67 n. 8, citing observations made by Bob Haak. Indeed,texhnical examinations have revealed that pronounced cusping occurs at the bottom but noton the other three edges.

ProvenanceGeorge Granville Sutherland-Levenson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland (1786–1861), YorkHouse, England, until 1846.[1](George J. Morant, London).
(John Lewis Rutley, London, by whom sold to Frewen for £25, 1848).
Thomas Frewen (1811–70), Brickwall, Northiam, Sussex, 1848; by descent to Admiral Sir
John Byng Frewen, G. C. B. (1911–75), Northiam, Sussex; until ca. 1969.[2](Sale, Sotheby’s Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 24 April 1978, no. 110).
Private collection, the Netherlands.
Private collection, Switzerland (sale, Sotheby’s, London, 11 April 1990, no. 41 [David KoetserGallery, Zurich, 1990–91]).
© 2020 The Leiden Collection

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
Page 7 of 9Private collection (sale, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 18 May 2004, no. 31, unsold [Salomon Lilian,B. V., Amsterdam, 2004]).
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2004.

Provenance Notes

1. A letter from the art dealer, cabinet- and framemaker George J. Morant to the Duke ofSutherland’s agent, Thomas Jackson, dated 23 March 1846 (Staffordshire Record Office,D593/P/22/4/4), offered to exchange a painting by Francesco Albani then in his possession
for ten paintings owned by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, among which “TheTerburgh,” for £60 (probably An Officer Making His Bow to a Lady, now Polesden Lacey[National Trust], inv. 1246491) and “Do [ditto] Portrait” for £20. The latter probably refers tothe present picture, which had certainly left the collection by 1848. Other paintings identified
on the list, by Nicolaes Maes and Pieter de Hooch, are known to have left the Sutherland
collection in 1846.
2. Mentioned in the manuscript catalogue of the contents of Brickwall House, March 1851, as
hanging in the dining room, and described by Frewen: “This fine Terburgh was one of 11 [sic]pictures bought by Rutley picture dealer Gt. Newport St from the Duke of Sutherland out ofYork House: the Duchess persuaded him to sell them in order to buy some grand furniture!! Ibought it of Rutley for 20 <inserted above: 25> £ in 1848.” (East Sussex Record Office, FRE8081). As Morant’s firm also supplied furniture to the Duke of Sutherland, it is not clear
exactly what the Duke and Duchess received in exchange for the pictures sold. The history ofthe painting’s acquisition by Frewen and its presence in the Sutherland collection wasreconstructed by Lara Yeager-Crasselt, researcher at The Leiden Collection, with theassistance of Malinda Law (Staffordshire Record Office) and Philip Bye (East Sussex RecordOffice).

Exhibition History
The Hague, Mauritshuis, “Gerard ter Borch, Zwolle 1617–Deventer 1681,” 9 March–28 April
1974; Münster, Landemuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, 12 May–23 June 1974, no.
56a [lent by a private collection].
Zurich, David Koetser, “Fine Old Master Paintings Principally of the Dutch and FlemishSchools,” 1990–91, no. 24 [lent by a private collection].
Amsterdam, Amsterdam Historical Museum, “Kopstukken: Amsterdammers geportretteerd
1600–1800,” 10 October 2002–26 January 2003, no. 33 [lent by a private collection].
© 2020 The Leiden Collection

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References
Langemeyer, Gerhard, ed. Gerard ter Borch, Zwolle 1617–Deventer 1681. Exh. cat. The
Hague, Mauritshuis; Münster, Landesmusuem fur Kunst und Kulter Geschichte. Münster,
1974, 186–87, no. 56a.
Gerson, Horst. “Gerard ter Borch: Zur Ausstellung im Landesmuseum Münster.”
Kunstchronik 27, no. 2 (1974): 374.
Brown, Christopher. “Gerard ter Borch at The Hague and Münster.” Burlington Magazine 116(May 1974): 291.
Dudok van Heel, S. A. C. “In presentie van de Heer Gerard ter Borch.” In Essays in Northern
European Art Presented to Egbert Haverkamp Begemann on His Sixtieth Birthday. Edited byAnne Marie Logan, 67, n. 8. Doornspijk, 1983.
Weber, Gregor J. M. “Dus leeft de dappre Graaf. Zu einem Bildnis Andries de Graeffs von
Jan Lievens (1607–1674).” Oud Holland 99 (1985): 48–49, no. 5, 55, n. 26.
David Koetser Gallery. Fine Old Master Paintings Principally of the Dutch and Flemish
Schools. Sales cat. Zurich, David Koetser Gallery. Zurich, 1990–91, no. 24.
Kettering, Alison McNeil. “Gerard ter Borch’s Portraits of the Deventer Elite.” Simiolus 27(1999): 67, n. 84.
De Bell, Wim, and Norbert Middelkoop. “Andries de Graeff, ca. 1673.” In Kopstukken:Amsterdammers geportretteerd 1600–1800. Edited by Norbert Middelkoop, 134–36, no. 33.
Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Amsterdam Historical Museum. Bussum, 2002.
Van Suchtelen, Ariane. “Portrait of Cornelis de Graeff (1650-1678), 1673.” Portraits in theMauritshuis, 1430–1790. Edited by Quentin Buvelot, 51–55, no. 7. Zwolle, 2004.
Fusenig,Thomas.

Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum

Aachen:Bestandskatalog

derGemäldegalerie, Niederlande von 1550 bis 1800. Aachen and Munich, 2006, 39–40.
Vis, Pieter C. “Andries de Graeff, 1611–1678,’t Gezagh is heerelyk: doch vol
bekommeringen.” Paper submitted to Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2010, 16, no. 20.

VersionsEngraved

1. Dated (incorrectly) and inscribed with the name of the sitter at the upper left: Andries deGraeff / lxiii Jaer /M.D.C. LXXIIIIVersions and Copies© 2020 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster ofAmsterdam
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1. After Gerard ter Borch, Andries de Graeff, oil on canvas, 42 x 34.5 cm, Suermondt-Ludwig
Museum, Aachen, inv. no. GK 509.

2. Studio of Gerard ter Borch, Andries de Graeff, oil on canvas, 39 x 29 cm, Musée des BeauxArts, Dijon, no. CA T 63.

Technical Summary
The support, a single piece of fine-weight, plain-weave fabric with tacking margins removed, hasbeen lined. The horizontal threads slope downward when viewed from left to right, and there ispronounced cusping along the lower edge only. There are inscriptions identifying the sitter but nowax collection seals, stencils or import stamps along the lining canvas or stretcher.
A light-colored, radio-opaque ground has been thinly and evenly applied. The paint has been
applied with loose, fluid brushstrokes in thin, smooth glazes with no use of impasto or raised
brushwork.
The painting is unsigned but is dated (incorrectly) and inscribed with the sitter’s name in parallel
strokes of highlight and shadow along the upper left corner.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 780–1000 nanometers. The
infrared images, the X-radiograph, and a pentimento suggest the middle finger of the figure’s
proper left hand was originally depicted shorter, similar in length to the pointer.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2004 and remains in a good state of preservation.

© 2020 The Leiden Collection