NARRATOR:
According to the 16th-century humanist and court painter Francisco de Holanda, only a select few merited the honor of being immortalized in paint:
HOLANDA [ACTOR]:
“Illustrious princes, kings and emperors, princesses and queens of virtue and wisdom, men famous in arms, art and letters, or of singular liberality and virtues, ‘and nobody else at all.’”
NARRATOR:
By the time Thomas de Keyser painted this small likeness in 1631, however, the laws of portraiture had been modified to fit the demands of the class of prosperous Dutch burghers. It is unclear exactly who these sitters are, but the coat of arms above the door suggests that they may be the Amsterdam merchant Dirk van der Wissel and his 7-year-old son, Jacob. Dressed in elaborate silk and satin clothing, they are standing before a large table, draped in sumptuous green velvet. Plush pillows and gilded leather wall coverings imply great status and wealth. Both subjects direct our attention to the right, outside of the picture frame, where a companion portrait of the female family members may once have hung.
In spite of his attention to dress and setting, de Keyser gave little sense of his subjects’ personality. With his refined sensibility for vivid colors and sharply delineated form, he applied the standards of court portraiture to small, intimate likenesses appropriate for the home. In the following years, many Dutch painters would emulate his clear, airless interiors and attention to minute detail.
Dirck Van Der Wissel and His Son Jacob (Portrait of a Gentleman and His Son)
1631
Thomas de Keyser (Dutch, 1596/7-1667)
On View
In this double portrait of father and son, de Keyser emphasizes the former's role as parent. The rhetorical gestures of the two figures suggest that the painting originally hung with a pendant. Following convention, the pendant would have portrayed the female members of the family with corresponding gestures. The coat of arms above the door identifies the subjects as the merchant Dirk van der Wessel and his seven-year-old son, Jacob.
As a portraitist, de Keyser astutely transformed the monumental scale of court portraiture into the small cabinet painting, appropriate for Dutch homes. He retained, however, the important attributes attached to the tradition of court portraiture, such as the full-length format of the sitters. His skillful descriptions of the silk and satin costumes, the walls of the room, covered with costly gilt leather and the rich cushions on the chair indicate the subjects' wealth and high social position.
Details
- Artist Name: Thomas de Keyser (Dutch, 1596/7-1667)
- Title: Dirck Van Der Wissel and His Son Jacob (Portrait of a Gentleman and His Son)
- Date: 1631
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Dimensions: 25-1/8 x 19-1/4 in. (63.8 x 48.9 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1968.11.09.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Gerald Maunsell Gamul Wilshere (b. 1895), The Frythe, Welwyn, Hertfordshire
(London, Sotheby's, 21 October 1942, lot 92, ill., for £780 to);
[W. Duits, London, stock number 7516, sold 6 October 1943 for £980 to];
[Frost and Reed, London].
John C. Myer, Jr., Ashland Ohio, sold February, 1955 to;
[Newhouse Galleries, New York, stock no. 15614, sold 11 February 1957 to];
Morris I. Kaplan, Chicago (Sotheby's, London, 12 June 1968, lot 58, ill., for £6,500 to);
A.K. Armytage) to;
The Norton Simon Foundation.
(London, Sotheby's, 21 October 1942, lot 92, ill., for £780 to);
[W. Duits, London, stock number 7516, sold 6 October 1943 for £980 to];
[Frost and Reed, London].
John C. Myer, Jr., Ashland Ohio, sold February, 1955 to;
[Newhouse Galleries, New York, stock no. 15614, sold 11 February 1957 to];
Morris I. Kaplan, Chicago (Sotheby's, London, 12 June 1968, lot 58, ill., for £6,500 to);
A.K. Armytage) to;
The Norton Simon Foundation.
[on loan]
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969-07-16 to 1974-11-26
- Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum Pasadena, California, p. 52
- Art at Auction: The Year at Sotheby's and Parke-Bernet, 1967-68, p. 39
- Adams, Ann Jensen, The Paintings of Thomas de Keyser (1596/7-1667): A Study of Portraiture in 17th Century Amsterdam,no. 35 pp. 255-260; pp. 65-67
- Petit Palais, Le siècle de Rembrandt hollandaise des collections publiques françaises, p. 120
- Bénézit, E., Dictionnaire critique documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, p. 206
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 76
- Sutton, Peter C., A Guide to Dutch Art in America, pp. 216, 312
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 474 p. 302
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