Herman van der Mast (circa 1550-1610)

Details

Herman van der Mast (circa 1550-1610)

Portrait of a gentleman, aged 33, standing three quarter length, wearing a black costume with lace collar and cuffs; and Portrait of a woman, aged 24, standing three quarter length, wearing a velvet dress with lace collar and cuffs, vlieger and bonnet and with a golden chain around her waist

The first signed and dated upper left H. Mast 1589 and inscribed with the age of the sitter upper right Aeta Suae 33; the second signed and dated upper right HM 1587 and inscribed with the age of the sitter upper left Aeta Suae 24, both oil on panel
89 x 73.5 cma pair (2)

Provenance

probably in possession of the Della Faille family (see previous lot) and thence by descent

Literature

B.W.F. van Riemsdijk, Twee Aantekeningen uit Van Mander's Schilderboek, in Oud Holland, XVII, 1899, p. 124A.B. De Vries, Het Noord-Nederlandsch portret in de tweede helft van de 16e eeuw, 1934, p. 102, figs. 59 and 60
G.J. Hoogewerff, De Noord-Nederlandsche Schilderkunst, IV, 1941/42, pp. 613/14, fig. 292
P.J.J. van Thiel, Alle Schilderijen van het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, 1976, pp. 370/371, no. C616/617, with ill.

Exhibited

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1899-1995, on loan

Further details

VARIOUS PROPERTIES

Lot Essay

The present lot is a characteristic example of portraiture in Delft at the end of the 16th century, where Jacob Willemsz. Delff was the leading artist in this field. Van der Mast settled in the city in 1597 and followed the current mode by portraying his figures standing three quarter length, facing each other, the man with his right hand on his waist. In contrast to Delff, Van der Mast placed his sitters against a light background with sharper outlines. De Vries (op.cit., p. 102) suggests that in this he was influenced by french portraiture which he had seen during his stay of seven years in this country

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