(Amsterdam 1596–1667)
Portrait of a young man dressed in black and surrounded by antique sculptures (including the Farnese Hercules)
monogrammed and dated at lower right: TDK 1648
oil on panel, 71 x 55.9 cm, framed

Provenance:
Hendrick Bredeman (1734–1788) collection, Amsterdam;
sale, Philippus van der Schley et al., Amsterdam, 1 July 1788, lot 91 (as Fouquet);
with Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam (1926);
seized by the National Socialists in July 1940;
handed over to the Dutch government by the Allies in 1945;
restituted to Jacques Goudstikker’s heirs in February 2006;
sale Christies Amsterdam, 14th November 2007, lot 26

Literature:
C. Wright, Paintings in Dutch Museums, An Index of Oil Paintings in Public Collections in the Netherlands by Artists born before 1870, London, 1980, p. 211;
A. Adams Jensen, The Paintings of Thomas de Keyser (1596/97–1667), A Study of Portraiture in Seventeenth Century Amsterdam, Cambridge, 1985, III, p. 145, no. 83;
Old Master Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue, Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst (The Netherlandish Office for the Fine Arts), The Hague 1992, p. 160, no. 1318;
B. Schwarz, Hitlers Museum, Die Fotoalben Gemäldegalerie Linz: Dokumente zum “Führermuseum”, Vienna/Cologne/Weimar, 2004, p. 107, p. 225, no. III/19c

Exhibited:
The Hague, Schilderkundig Genootschap Pulchri Studio, March – April 1926, no. 86;
Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Rotterdam, Catalogue de la Collection Goudstikker d’Amsterdam, April 1926, no. 53;
Metropolitan Museum, New York, Pictures looted from Holland and returned through the efforts of the U. S. Armed Forces, October 1947, no. 22 (as ‘attributed to Thomas de Keyser, but probably by Michael Sweerts’);
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Drie Eeuwen Portret in Nederland 1500–1800, 1952; Noordbrabants Museum, s’Hertogenbosch, Herinneringen aan Italie, Kunst en Tourisme in de 18de Eeuw, 1984, p. 98, cat. no. 1;
on loan to the Museum voor Stad en Lande, Groningen, until several years ago

Thomas de Keyser was an important Dutch portraitist. He painted vividly characterised likenesses, depicting his sitters in self-confident, effective poses. A typical feature of his art was his special ability to convincingly render dark garments in all the nuances of grey and black. The Farnese Hercules, which is seen here from behind, was one of the most famous antique sculptures from as early as the 17th century. At that time it was possible to admire the figure in the inner courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The statue of Venus that appears to the young man’s left is probably identical to a figure in a Roman collection that was repeatedly drawn by Rubens.

Provenance:
Hendrick Bredeman (1734–1788) collection, Amsterdam;
sale, Philippus van der Schley et al., Amsterdam, 1 July 1788, lot 91 (as Fouquet);
with Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam (1926);
seized by the National Socialists in July 1940;
handed over to the Dutch government by the Allies in 1945;
restituted to Jacques Goudstikker’s heirs in February 2006;
Christies Amsterdam, 14th November 2007, lot 26

Literature:
C. Wright, Paintings in Dutch Museums, An Index of Oil Paintings in Public Collections in the Netherlands by Artists born before 1870, London, 1980, p. 211;
A. Adams Jensen, The Paintings of Thomas de Keyser (1596/97–1667), A Study of Portraiture in Seventeenth Century Amsterdam, Cambridge, 1985, III, p. 145, no. 83;
Old Master Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue, Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst (The Netherlandish Office for the Fine Arts), The Hague 1992, p. 160, no. 1318;
B. Schwarz, Hitlers Museum, Die Fotoalben Gemäldegalerie Linz: Dokumente zum “Führermuseum”, Vienna/Cologne/Weimar, 2004, p. 107, p. 225, no. III/19c

Exhibited:
The Hague, Schilderkundig Genootschap Pulchri Studio, March – April 1926, no. 86;

Rotterdamsche Kunstkring, Rotterdam, Catalogue de la Collection Goudstikker d’Amsterdam, April 1926, no. 53;

Metropolitan Museum, New York, Pictures looted from Holland and returned through the efforts of the U. S. Armed Forces, October 1947, no. 22 (as ‘attributed to Thomas de Keyser, but probably by Michael Sweerts’);

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Drie Eeuwen Portret in Nederland 1500–1800, 1952; Noordbrabants Museum, s’Hertogenbosch, Herinneringen aan Italie, Kunst en Tourisme in de 18de Eeuw, 1984, p. 98, cat. no. 1;
on loan to the Museum voor Stad en Lande, Groningen, until several years ago

Thomas de Keyser was an important Dutch portraitist. He painted vividly characterised likenesses, depicting his sitters in self-confident, effective poses. A typical feature of his art was his special ability to convincingly render dark garments in all the nuances of grey and black. The Farnese Hercules, which is seen here from behind, was one of the most famous antique sculptures from as early as the 17th century. At that time it was possible to admire the figure in the inner courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The statue of Venus that appears to the young man’s left is probably identical to a figure in a Roman collection that was repeatedly drawn by Rubens.