Jacob Willemsz van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father

Maarten van Heemskerck Netherlandish

Not on view

This sober image of the artist's father was painted the year Heemskerck left his hometown of Haarlem for an extended trip to Italy. The inscription in Dutch on the parapet speaks in the sitter’s voice to say, "My son portrayed me here when I had lived seventy-five years so they say." A direct gaze confronts the viewer with the presence of a stern man nearing the end of his life. Several years later, Van Veen died at the age of seventy-nine, while Heemskerck was still abroad.

#5139. Jacob Willemsz. van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father

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Jacob Willemsz van Veen (1456–1535), the Artist's Father, Maarten van Heemskerck (Netherlandish, Heemskerck 1498–1574 Haarlem), Oil on wood

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