Oil on Panel
113 x 86 cm. each
Dated and inscribed on the male portrait, upper left: Ao 1635. / Aetatis. 34.: the female portrait upper right: Ao 1635. / Aetatis. 25.
Art-historical texts and documentation by Rudi Ekkart and Claire van den Donk
The Dutch pair of portraits of a 34-year old man and a 25-year old woman immediately draws our attention – most strikingly due to the wide-brimmed hat worn by the woman. While women wearing hats are a common motif in English portraiture of the seventeenth century, such depictions are quite rare in Dutch portraits. A notable exception is the 1619 wedding portrait of Anna Boudaen Courten of Middelburg painted by the Zeeland painter Salomon Mesdach. In this case, however, the presence of a hat is less surprising – Anna was married in London in July 1619 to Jacob Pergens, originally from Cologne.1 In his portrait, her husband is depicted with his hat placed on a table beside him. Carla van de Puttelaar recently observed that the 1635 pair discussed follows a similar compositional scheme: the man holds his hat in his hand, while the woman wears hers on her head.2Another example is the 1634 portrait by Rembrandt of Maria Bockenolle, wife of Johannes Elison, who is also shown wearing a black hat.3 Here, the hat also reflects English fashion traditions, as the couple resided in the city of Norwich, where Elison served as a reverend of the Dutch Reformed Church. These examples suggest that the unidentified couple portrayed in the 1635 pair likely had close ties to England.
A masterclass in textures and detail
The artist has exquisitely depicted the richly dressed couple. The man holds a broadbrimmed black hat in his hand. A flat white linen collar with large lace scalloped edging drapes over the shoulders of a black doublet made of brocaded silk. His stiffly pleated linen cuffs are trimmed with delicate bobbin lace. The woman’s portrait especially captures the subtle, luxurious details of her attire. She wears a large, high-necked assembled collar made of intricately rendered lace, the borders edged with scalloped lace trimmings and the centre embellished with a rosette of silver and gold brocade satin and black velvet ribbons. A grey-jewelled gold pendant hangs from a black string around her neck.
The high waistline of her black gown is accented with a wide silk ribbon in silver and gold brocade and black velvet, topped with a prominent black and silver silk rosette on her left side. Wrapped elegantly around her left wrist, she wears a gold chain, while her right wrist is adorned with a string of pearls and black beads, alongside another gold chain bracelet. In her right hand, she holds a silver-handled black ostrich feather fan - a symbol of wealth - secured to her dress with a wide ribbon. A golden band encircles her right thumb, and two attached gold rings – one set with a small pearl – adorn her left ring finger. Her superbly rendered lace cuffs with large, scalloped edges curling over finely pleated white linen, are particularly striking. The woman’s left hand rests on a red-covered table, upon which lies a pair of long white gloves beside a small, finely rendered book with black ribbons between the pages. The inclusion of the table motif offers a tangible setting within the composition – a popular element in portraiture of the period.
Connections -and misconnections- to Santvoort
As obscure as the identity of the sitters, is that of the artist who painted these portraits. The works have twice been listed in auction sale catalogues as ‘attributed to Dirck Santvoort’ – a credible designation, given the clear connections with authentic work by this artist. Moreover, the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh holds another portrait of a woman wearing a hat, titled The Young Housekeeper and traditionally ascribed to Santvoort.4 However, close visual examination and comparison reveal that this attribution is incorrect; the Edinburgh painting is not by Santvoort, nor by the hand of the 1635 pair discussed here. Nevertheless, the hat motif of the Edinburgh work likely influenced the attribution of the 1635 portraits to Dirk Santvoort.
Dirck Dircksz. Santvoort (1609-1680) lived his entire life in Amsterdam and established a rapidly successful practice as a portraitist around 1634, serving numerous prominent local families; he also painted a few group portraits of civic regents. His production ceased abruptly after 1645, possibly due to a physical disability that made a continuation of his career impossible. From his active period of over ten years, dozens of signed portraits are known to us, offering a solid basis for the attribution of other works to him. While the two paintings discussed here are stylistically related to his oeuvre, the differences in technique and execution are significant enough to rule out an attribution to the artist. The affinity with Santvoort and the English fashion element of a hat suggest that the origins of the portrait pair likely lie in or near Amsterdam. Despite careful comparisons with works by numerous other artists active in the city or its environs, a definite attribution has not yet emerged. For now, we must await a moment of recognition – perhaps through a securely signed work – that confirms the hand responsible for this distinctive pair.
A personal note from the gallery
‘I am still searching for the painter, but what a fine pair of portraits! The details are fabulous, every fold and jewel carefully done. I love the English influence, the hats, the pride in how they present themselves. They make you wonder where they came from and what their lives were like. Portrait pairs of this size and quality, with such international flair, are seldom encountered today. They stand out for their richness and mystery alike.’
Jaco Pieper, owner Argento Gallery
Provenance
Sale New York (Christie’s), 31 May 1991, lot 40, as attributed to Dirck Dircksz. Santvoort; Private Swiss collection.
Literature
Carla van de Puttelaar, Salomon Mesdach. Een Zeeuwse meester uit de Gouden Eeuw, Zwolle (WBooks) 2025, p. 75 and 76.
Notes
1. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-919. See Carla van de Puttelaar, Salomon Mesdach. Een Zeeuwse meester uit de Gouden Eeuw, Zwolle (WBooks) 2025, especially p. 75. Her mother, Margarita Courten was also portrayed wearing a hat on her head by Salomon Mesdach in 1625 (collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); in her case, the reason for donning a hat is even more clear as she lived in London and had her portrait painted by Mesdach during a stay in Middelburg.
2. Carla van de Puttelaar 2025 (see note 1), p. 76 and ill. 138 and 139. 3.
3. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
4. Panel, 122 x 92 cm. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, inv. no. NG663.
