Group Portrait of an Unidentified Board of Governors

Thomas de Keyser, c. 1625 - c. 1630

The governors of associations, institutions, and businesses took pride in having themselves portrayed as a group. These three unidentified gentlemen are clearly involved with money and precious objects. On the table before them are a pouch with coins and a beautiful ornate scale for weighing gold and other valuables. The man at the right holds a letter of credit. They may well be bankers.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4236
  • Dimensionssupport: height 126 cm x width 105.8 cm, frame: height 149 cm x width 128.2 cm, sight size: height 125 cm x width 104.2 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Group Portrait of an Unidentified Body
    • Group Portrait of an Unidentified Board of Governors

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4236

  • Description

    Groepsportret van een onbekend college. Links en rechts zit mannen in stoelen. De man links houdt een boekje (of doosje) in zijn linkerhand. De persoon rechts heeft een aantal geldstukken in de rechterhand. Tussen hen in staat een derde man (een bode?) die een verzegeld document aanreikt. Op een tafel in het midden staat een weegschaal waarvan de schalen door een draak worden gedragen.

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Thomas de Keyser

  • Dating

    c. 1625 - c. 1630

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    • support: height 126 cm x width 105.8 cm
    • frame: height 149 cm x width 128.2 cm
    • sight size: height 125 cm x width 104.2 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt and the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1973

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ...; sale, Lord Ravensworth, Ravensworth Castle, Newcastle on Tyne, sold on the premises (Anderson and Garland), 15 June 1920, no. 65, as Ferdinand Bol, to W.E. Duits;{Copy RKD.}...; collection F. Enthoven, Amsterdam (on loan to the museum 1925-28); his sale, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 25 October 1932, no. 13, fl. 5,200, to the dealer Nicolaas Beets;{Copy RMA.}...; collection A.F. Philips, Eindhoven;{Note RMA.}...; from the dealer H. Cramer, The Hague, fl. 150,000, to the museum, as a gift of the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Fotocommissie, 1973

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

  • S.A.C. Dudok van Heel, 'Schilderde Thomas de Keyser in 1619 de commissarissen van de Wisselbank?’, Amstelodamum 64 (1977), p. 16-17

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