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Portrait of a Man

1647
Not on view
In 1872 Henry James described this picture as "the perfect prose of portraiture" . . . in van der Helst's "unmitigated verity you detect no faintest throb of invention blossoming into style and straggling across the line which separates a fine likeness from a fine portrait." The American aesthete's backhanded praise passes over such considerations as the placement of the figure within the picture field and the sitter's expression, both of which contribute to an impression of quiet authority.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Man
  • Artist: Bartholomeus van der Helst (Dutch, Haarlem, born ca. 1612–15, died 1670 Amsterdam)
  • Date: 1647
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: Oval, 26 1/4 x 21 5/8 in. (66.7 x 54.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, 1871
  • Object Number: 71.73
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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A Dutch Burgomaster, after Bartholomeus van der Helst, Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart French, Etching on chine collé
A Dutch Burgomaster, after Bartholomeus van der Helst
Multiple artists/makers
1871
A Dutch Burgomaster, after Bartholomeus van der Helst, from "Etchings of Pictures in the Metropolitan Museum New York", Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart French, Etching; fourth state of four (Gonse)
A Dutch Burgomaster, after Bartholomeus van der Helst, from "Etchings of Pictures in the Metropolitan Museum New York"
Multiple artists/makers
1871
A Dutch Burgomaster, after Bartholomeus van der Helst
Multiple artists/makers
1871
The Musician, Bartholomeus van der Helst Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Musician
Bartholomeus van der Helst
1662
The Preaching of John the Baptist, Bartholomeus Breenbergh Dutch, Oil on wood
The Preaching of John the Baptist
Bartholomeus Breenbergh
1634

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