Portrait of a Goldsmith, Probably Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft

Werner van den Valckert (signed by artist), 1617

The man leans out of a window. In his right hand he holds up a gold ring set with a stone. His left hand rests on a touchstone, an instrument for assessing the purity of gold and silver objects. The sitter might be the goldsmith Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft. In 1617, the year the portrait was painted, he was appointed assay-master of the Leiden goldsmiths’ guild, which would explain the inclusion of the touchstone.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-3920
  • Dimensionssupport: height 66 cm x width 49.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Portrait of a Goldsmith, Probably Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft
    • Portrait of a man with ring and touchstone, probably Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft (1585-1658)

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-3920

  • Description

    Portret van een man met een ring en toetssteen, waarschijnlijk Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft (1585-1658), goudsmid te Leiden. Ten halven lijve, voorover gebogen uit een venster geleund, een ring in de rechterhand en een toetssteen in de linkerhand.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • label, on the reverse: ‘[...] de Van Wely peint après sa mort. La bibliographie de Van Mander [...] que Jan van Wely était un [...] a été assassiné le 1 Mai 1616 à la Haye au Binnenhof.’
    • signature and date, bottom centre: ‘W.v. Valckert / fe. 1617’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Werner van den Valckert (signed by artist)

  • Dating

    1617

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    support: height 66 cm x width 49.5 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1957-02

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ? Commissioned by Bartholomeus Jansz van Assendelft (1585-1658), Leiden; ? his son, Jan van Assendelft (1620-68), Leiden; ? his son, Barthout Jansz van Assendelft (1659-1722), Leiden; ? or his son, Adriaan van Assendelft (1626-97), Leiden; ? his son, Jan Adriaansz van Assendelft (1659-1728), Leiden; ? his son, Adriaan van Assendelft (1691-1752), Leiden; ? his son, Barthout Adriaansz van Assendelft (1733-84), Leiden; ? the daughter of his half-sister, Maria Anna Pompe van Slingelandt (1746-1805), the wife of Hugo de Wildt, Leiden; ? by descent to Frans de Wildt (1805-69), Leiden; ? Agnes W. de Wildt (1835-1905), Leiden; her daughter, Jonkvrouw Isabella F. Mollerus (1863-1920), Leiden, wife of Baron Dirk van Asbeck; his sale, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 30 November 1920, no. 1015, to Antoon van Welie (1866-1956), The Hague; from his estate, fl. 7,500, to the museum, 1957{Provenance reconstructed in Ekkart 1999, pp. 20-25.}

  • 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

Related objects

  • Related

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!