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Lot Essay
The daring and dynamic pose of the sitter in this portrait, with the right arm akimbo, the sitter's elbow breaking the picture plane to enter the viewer's space, represents a deft exercise in perspective with which Verspronck was highly successful; it recurs to similar effect in his 'Portrait of Andries Stilte as a standard bearer', painted in the same year (Sotheby's, New York, 30 January 2998, lot 69, $1,652,500). Together with that picture, the present work represents Verspronck's learned understanding and appreciation of the taste for virtuoso paint handling and unconventional compositions pioneered in Haarlem by Frans Hals, in whose studio Verspronck may have studied. The skillful manipulation of blacks, whites and greys in this portrait recalls those of Hals's masterly 'Portrait of a man' of 1630 (London, The Royal Collection), which also uses the arm-akimbo effect in a slightly more understated way.
A Haarlemer by birth and training, Verspronck matriculated into the Guild of Saint Luke in 1632 and 1655, and his inventive and virtuosic portraiture won him patrons across religious divides, in both Catholic and Calvinist families.
Verspronck painted this portrait of a gentlemen during his most prolific period: the greater part of his oeuvre dates from the period between 1640 and 1648, when he made some of his best and most well-known portraits. Only a limited number of his sitters have been identified, most of them citizens of Haarlem. Among these are members of both prominent Calvinistic governing families and wealthy Catholic ones. The gentleman depicted here is likely to have played an important role in Haarlem. The dashing pose, with the sitter provocatively looking at the viewer, while holding his right hand at his side, can be also seen in two portraits of an as yet unidentified gentlemen, both dated 1641 (Szépmõvészeti Múzeum, Budapest and Dienst Verspreide Rijkscollecities, The Hague; see R.E.O. Ekkart, Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck, Haarlem, 1979, pp. 88-9, nos. 36-7). Although Verspronck borrowed the pose from his rival in Haarlem, Frans Hals, in whose studio he probably had been active for a short period, Verspronk's portraits have a completely different character. All details are depicted in a more refined and minute manner, and the background becomes an important element for displaying light and dark effects. This painting is an impressive example of Verspronck's painterly technique, based on a reduced colour scheme consisting of blacks, whites, greys and browns.
A Haarlemer by birth and training, Verspronck matriculated into the Guild of Saint Luke in 1632 and 1655, and his inventive and virtuosic portraiture won him patrons across religious divides, in both Catholic and Calvinist families.
Verspronck painted this portrait of a gentlemen during his most prolific period: the greater part of his oeuvre dates from the period between 1640 and 1648, when he made some of his best and most well-known portraits. Only a limited number of his sitters have been identified, most of them citizens of Haarlem. Among these are members of both prominent Calvinistic governing families and wealthy Catholic ones. The gentleman depicted here is likely to have played an important role in Haarlem. The dashing pose, with the sitter provocatively looking at the viewer, while holding his right hand at his side, can be also seen in two portraits of an as yet unidentified gentlemen, both dated 1641 (Szépmõvészeti Múzeum, Budapest and Dienst Verspreide Rijkscollecities, The Hague; see R.E.O. Ekkart, Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck, Haarlem, 1979, pp. 88-9, nos. 36-7). Although Verspronck borrowed the pose from his rival in Haarlem, Frans Hals, in whose studio he probably had been active for a short period, Verspronk's portraits have a completely different character. All details are depicted in a more refined and minute manner, and the background becomes an important element for displaying light and dark effects. This painting is an impressive example of Verspronck's painterly technique, based on a reduced colour scheme consisting of blacks, whites, greys and browns.