Willem Willemsz. van der Vliet, Dutch c.1584-1642- Portrait of a man, aged 52, traditionally identified as Reinier Pauw, in black embroidered dress, fur collar, white lace ruff and a skull cap; oil on panel, signed, inscribed and dated 'AEta[tis]...

Willem Willemsz. van der Vliet,

Dutch c.1584-1642-

Portrait of a man, aged 52, traditionally identified as Reinier Pauw, in black embroidered dress, fur collar, white lace ruff and a skull cap;

oil on panel, signed, inscribed and dated 'AEta[tis]. 52. ao 1637. / W. vander Vliet. fecit.' (centre left), bears label to the reverse of the frame, 67.5 x 54.2 cm.

Provenance: Private Collection, UK.

Note: A portrait by Van der Vliet of the same sitter, in similar attire except for the skull cap, and also painted in 1637, is registered on the RKD database (IB 53085). This variant of the present work sold at Christie’s, London, 20 May 1921 and again at Christie’s, London, 16 April 1937.

Reinier Pauw (1564-1636) was born and lived in Amsterdam. He was an important Dutch nobleman and politician, holding the positions of Burgomaster, Councilman, Alderman and Mayor to Amsterdam as well as Ambassador to England. The traditional identification of the variant portrait to Pauw is based loosely on resemblance, and its accuracy should therefore be questioned.

Although relatively little is known about Van der Vliet’s life, he gained enough acclaim in his own lifetime to be included in the list of eminent Delft painters in Dirck van Bleyswijck's Beschryving der Stadt Delft (Description of the City of Delft, published in 1667). He began his career as a history painter, training with the court painter Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, before registering as a master at the local Guild of Saint Luke in 1615, and later becoming an accomplished portrait painter.

We are grateful to Dr Fred Meijer for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.