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Oil on wood Holland, 1656 Attributed to Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613-1670) - Dutch portrait painter Lower right inscribed and dated in Latin 'Ætatis 24 Ano 1656..' Overall dimensions, framed: 126 x 94 cm, wooden panel: 113 x 81 cm Provenance: German private collection Portrait paintings are the main subject of the Dutch artist Bartholomeus van der Helst; their expressiveness gives evidence of true mastery. Similar works, attributed to Bartholomeus van der Helst, fetch up to 55,000 Euro at international auctions This expressive portrait of a young gentleman probably comes from the hand of the Dutch painter Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613-1670). The sitter was 24 years old at the time of the creation of the painting, which is revealed by the Latin inscription on the right side of the portrait. The young man stands at a lectern, on which lies an open book that unfortunately can no longer be identified. The robe, the jacket, which is loosely thrown over the left shoulder, and the fur gloves testify his bourgeois origins. The focus of the portrait, however, is clearly on the face of the man, that impresses with the flesh tones and glossy spots on the skin and in the eyes. An equally great attraction has the perfectly captured lace collar and the corresponding trims of the sleeves, which strongly stand out from the dark background. Van der Helst, whose reputation as a portrait painter was at times even greater than that of Rembrandt, had specialized in these commissioned portraits. In nearly all of his portraits, the depicted are standing slightly sideways thus turning their right shoulder towards the beholder whereas their left side is in close connection to some attribute that is supposed to identify them further - just like the book on the lectern in this case. The painting is inscribed and dated in Latin on the upper right, 'Ætatis 24 Ano 1656.' On the simple, black wooden frame is a plaque with the inscription 'Portrait - Bartholomeus van der Helst 1613 - 1670'. The back shows rests of old labels and numbers. The painting is in an optically good condition with some signs of age and wear. It is strongly varnished. Beneath the coat of the varnish, large-scale restorations can be seen, especially in the left half of the paintings as well as some minor touch-ups. The edges show some abrasion due to the framing. The upper left corner shows some material loss. The varnished colour surface has some scratches and paint flakes. The joints of the wood panel are clearly visible and have been stabilized in the back. The frame is in an age-appropriate condition with small chips all around and some slightly bigger damage on the back below. The overall dimensions, including the frame, are 126 x 94 cm. The wood panel measures 113 x 81 cm. Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 - 1670) The Dutch painter Bartholomeus van der Helst was a student of Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy (1588-1653/56) and appears to be influenced in his paintings by Frans Hals (1580/85-1666), one of the leading portrait painters. In Amsterdam, also the works of Thomas de Keyser (1596 - 1667) and Rembrandt (1606-1669) probably had an influence on him. His principal work is the 'Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard', a colossal painting with 25 life-size figures, which is located in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. Through the expressive facial features of the characters and the masterful modeling of the robes, this painting is considered one of the 'masterpieces of all time'. At his time, Van der Helst's good reputation therefore exceeded those of the portrait painters Frans Hals and Rembrandt. Van der Helst became also known due to the St. Luke's guild, which he founded together with the portrait painter H. de Helt-Stokade in Amsterdam in 1653. Further paintings by Bartholomeus van der Helst are featured, among others, in the Louvre and the Uffizi Gallery.