Bartholomeus van der Helst

BARTHOLOMEUS VAN DER HELST (Haarlem, 1613-Amsterdam, 1670).
"Portrait of a lady", 1654.
Oil on canvas.
Provenance: Anna Ruiz Gallery in Barcelona.
Measurements: 72 x 61 cm; 95 x 82 cm (frame).

Bartholomeus van der Helst was a reputed Dutch portraitist, contemporary of Rembrandt. The portrait of a lady in question belongs to a period of maturity, when he had already become the most sought-after portraitist among the Amsterdam gentry. The pictorial quality can be appreciated in every detail: the somewhat worn flesh tones, but with traces of candor that envelop the cheeks, the natural shine of the eyes thanks to a masterful handling of the glazes, the silky reflections of the curls, the pleats of the puffed sleeves, the texture of the soft cotton of the blouse on the velvet dress.... Likewise, a remarkable handling of light plays with the hallmarks between black and white, modeling the hands and the face with great naturalistic skill.

Born in Haarlem, son of an innkeeper, van der Heist moved to Amsterdam. His first dated painting was a group portrait of the regents of the Walloon orphanage, dated 1637. It is not known from whom he learned to paint, but in Haarlem he must have at least known the work of Frans Hals, who like him, never traveled to Italy and specialized in portraiture. In 1639 he obtained his own commission, "The Company of Captain Roelof Bicker and Lieutenant Jan Michielsz Blaeuw". In Amsterdam he may have trained with Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy. He soon became the city's most famous portraitist, with flattering portraits in the vein of Anthony van Dyck, more commercial than Rembrandt's dark and introspective late work. Some of Rembrandt's disciples, such as Ferdinand Bol and Govaert Flinck, adopted van der Helst's style rather than that of their master. His large group portrait "The Civic Guard of Amsterdam Celebrates the Peace of Münster" was executed in 1648, and presented with considerable success. It was this painting that achieved his fame among future generations, according to Arnold Houbraken, and was admired by Godfried Kneller. Another well-remembered painting by Van der Helst is that of Gerard Andriesz Bicker, son of Andries Bicker, the mayor of Amsterdam, whom he also painted in 1642. This portrait is often used to depict obesity as a symbol of wealth of the Amsterdam merchants of the Dutch Golden Age in Amsterdam. It was probably painted in 1639, the same year as the first schutterstuk where Roelof Bicker is the central figure.