Portrait of Jan van Hellemont (1616-1665)

Images(3)

Portrait of Jan van Hellemont (1616-1665)

Artist Govaert Flinck Dutch, 1615–1660

Date1646

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions49 1/8 × 37 in. (124.8 × 94 cm)
Frame: 56 1/2 × 45 × 3 in. (143.5 × 114.3 × 7.6 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the State of North Carolina

Object number58.4.2

On View

On view

ProvenanceProbably commissioned by Jan van Hellemont (1616–1665) and his wife, Margaretha van Raephorst (1625–1690); created Amsterdam, 1646; inherited by her second husband, Cornelis Tromp (1629–1691), Amsterdam; [probate inventory/estate sale, Trompenburgh, 's-Graveland, Netherlands, 1692, no. 46] [1]; to his niece Sara Harpersdr. Tromp [later Sara van Kinschot and Sara van der Mast] (1655–1711), Delft; to her daughter [?] Catharina Cornelia van Kinschot ( –1763), Delft [2]; to her son Johan Anthony van Kinschot ( –1767), Delft [3][4]. Arthur Leigh Guinness ( –1898), London [William Dowdeswell, London, December 23, 1898]; [Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris, 1899]. Probably D. L. Einstein, New York, by 1905. Probably J. H. J. Mellaert, London, ca. 1928. Sir Charles and Lady Watson, Newton Hall, Cambridge, England. Viscountess Bertie of Thame, Shirburn Lodge, Oxford, England; [Christie, Manson & Woods, London, December 10, 1954, no. 55, as Portrait of a Gentleman and His Wife] [5]; [William Hallsborough Gallery, London]; [D. H. Cevat, London, by June 1957]; sold to NCMA, 1958.

[1] Inventory transcribed in W. Martin, "Een en ander uit den inventaris der nalatenschap van Cornelis Tromp," in Oud Holland 19, no. 2 (1901). The reference in question is on p. 74: "Een vanden heer van Helmont en desselfs gemalin samen." The original manuscript is in the collection of the Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam: inv. no. HS-1079, f. 19, 14-04-1692.
[2] Stadsarchief Delft, inv. nr. 847, Familie van Kinschot, Nr. 255 ‘Inventaris van den nagelate boedel en goederen van wijlen de weledelgeboren vrouwe C.C van Kinschot, weduwe wijlen de weledelgeborene heer Mr. G. van Kinschot, dato 1 april 1763’, f. 39 [Twee groote dito [pourtretten] met vergulde lijsten, verbeeldende de heer Burgemeester van Helmond en sijn vrouw] (Two large ditto [portraits] with gilded frames, depicting Mr. Mayor van Helmond and his wife). Although Jan van Hellemont was a councilor in Amsterdam, not a mayor, it seems almost certain that these are the same portraits as those that appeared in the estate of Cornelis Tromp and Cornelia's son Johan Anthony.
[3] Family Van Kinschot Inventory, 1767 Delft (now RKD, The Hague): ‘Den heere van Helmond met zijne huijvrouwe door Govert Flinck 1606 …‘ [Mr. Van Helmond and his wife by Govert Flinck 1606]. According to Tom van der Molen (correspondence, curatorial file, 9/7/2022), the 0 is probably a misreading of the signature, as both the painter and sitters were not yet born in that year. Furthermore, since the couple was married in 1644 – the inscription very likely was a 4 that was obscured under a yellowed or dirty varnish, and is clearly read as a 4 in the date of 1646 today.
[4] Several works from Johan Anthony van Kinschot’s collection were sold in Delft on July 21 and 22, 1767, but Flinck’s portraits are not listed in the catalogue: “Catalogus van Een Uitmuntend en Voortresselyk Cabinet Schilderyen der Beroemdste Nederlandsche en Andere Meesters…Alle naargelaaten door wylen Den WelEd: Gestr: Heer Mr Johan Anthony van Kinschot, In zyn WelEds leeven…” (auction catalogue) (Delft: Egbert van der Smout, July 21-22, 1767).
[5] Same lot as NCMA 58.4.3.
Published ReferencesCharles Sedelmeyer, Illustrated Catalogue of the Fifth Series of 100 Paintings by Old Masters of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French, and English Schools (Paris: Sedelmeyer Gallery, 1899), discussed 18, illus. no. 11 and 12.

(Probably) W. Martin, "Een en ander uit den inventaris der nalatenschap van Cornelis Tromp," in Oud Holland 19, no. 2 (1901), 74.

“Catalogue of pictures by Old Masters and modern pictures, the properties of the Rt. Hon. Lord Aldenham ... and from other sources” (auction catalogue) (London: Christie, Manson & Woods, December 10, 1954), lot 55, illus., as Portrait of a Gentleman and His Wife.

"Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions," The Burlington Magazine 97, no. 625 (April, 1955), 124, illus. opposite 124.

"Acquisitions," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 1, nos. 4 and 5 (Winter 1957-Spring 1958), listed 53 (as Self-Portrait), illus. (b-w) 55.

Masterpieces of Art: In Memory of William R. Valentiner, 1880-1958 (exhibition catalogue) (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1959), cat. no. 85, illus. (b-w) 151, fig. 85.

J. W. von Moltke, Govaert Flinck 1615-1660 (Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger & Co., 1965), cat. no. 448, illus. pl. 50.

Sarasota, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Dutch Seventeenth Century Portraiture: The Golden Age, December 4-February 8, 1981, illus. no. 19a as companion piece to 52.4.3. (catalogue only, not in exhibition).

Albert Blankert, Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680): Rembrandt’s Pupil (Doornspijk: Davaco, 1982), mentioned 60, illus. fig. 58.

Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, Vol. 2 (Landau/Pfalz: Pfälzische Verlaganstalt GmbH, 1983), cat. no. 702, illus. 1134.

E. de Jongh, Portretten van echt en trouw Huwelijk en gezin in de Nederlandse kunst van de zeventiende eeuw door E. de Jongh (exhibition catalogue) (Zwolle: Waanders Uitgeverij/Frans Halsmuseum, 1986), illus. 32, fig. 19a, fig. 19b (catalogue only, not in exhibition).

Introduction to the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1992), illus. (b-w) 98.

E. de Jongh, "Bij de ballustrade, met gerust gemoed. De implicaties van een architectonisch motief in de zeventiende-eeuwse portretkunst," Oud Holland 107-1993 (1993), 133, illus. (b-w) 132, fig. 22.

Faces of the Golden Age: Seventeenth Century Dutch Portraits (exhibition catalogue) (Yamaguchi: The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994), illus. 114; English supplement: 38. (catalogue only, not in show.)

Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Aspects of Connoisseurship, text by Walter Liedtke, Carolyn Logan, Nadine M. Ornstein, Stephanie S. Dickey (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995), 20, illus. 21 (catalogue only, not in exhibition).

Stephanie Dickey, “Flinck, Govaert (1615-1660),” in Sheila Muller, ed. Dutch Art: An Encyclopedia, (New York; London: Garland, 1997).

Norbert Middlekoop, ed., Kopstukken - Amsterdammers geportretteerd: 1600-1800 (exhibition catalogue) (Bussum: Published by Uitgeverij THOTH for Amsterdams Historisch Museum, 2002), 36, illus. (b-w) 35. (catalogue only, not in show.)

Stephanie S. Dickey, Rembrandt: Portraits in Print (Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co., 2004), mentioned 102, illus (b-w) 271, fig. 95.

David A. de Witt, Jan van Noordt: Painter of History and Portraits in Amsterdam (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007), mentioned 30 and illus. (b-w) 31, fig. 15a.

Rudi Ekkart, “Portraits in the Golden Age,” in Dutch Portraits: The Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals, Quentin Buvelot, ed. (exhibition catalogue) (Zwolle: Waanders Publishers, 2007), illus. (color) 35, fig. 27 (catalogue only, not in exhibition).

Bernd Ebert, Simon und Isaack Luttichuys (Berlin and Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2009), mentioned and illus. (b-w) 259.

Dennis P. Weller, Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings [Systematic Catalogue of the Collection] (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2009), cat. no. 17, illus. (color) 75, also mentioned xii.

Antoni Ziemba, “Modus rusticus portretu holenderskiego jako moel tozsamosciowy obywateli Republiki Niderlandzkiej: obraz Govaerta Flincka w Muzeum Narodowym w Warszawie,” in Journal of the National Museum in Warsaw 1(37) (2012), 196, illus. (color) 197, fig. 6.

Flinck in Focus: A Question of Identity in 17th-century Dutch Portraiture [exhibition brochure] (Birmingham, UK: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, 2015), illus. (color) 7, fig. 6 (brochure only, not in exhibition).

Tom van der Molen, “The Life of Govert Flinck,” in Govert Flinck: Reflecting History (Kleve: Museum Kurhaus Kleve – Ewald Mataré-Sammlung, 2015), mentioned 18, illus. (b-w) 17, fig. 6.

Luis Nieto Fernández, The Painted Parapet: Structure and Symbolism (Madrid: Rayxart Investigación, 2017), briefly discussed and illus. (color) 54, fig. 67.

Norbert Middelkoop, ed., Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck: Rembrandt’s Master Pupils (Zwolle: WBooks, 2017), mentioned 64 and illus. (color) 63, fig. 73.

Rembrandt and Amsterdam Portraiture, 1590–1670 (exhibition catalogue) (Madrid: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2020), briefly discussed 187–188, illus. (color) 194, cat. no. 63.

Stephanie S. Dickey, “Portraits of Prosperity,” in Rembrandt in Amsterdam: Creativity and Competition, Stephanie S. Dickey and Jochen Sander, eds. (exhibition catalogue) (New Haven and London: Yale University Press for National Gallery of Canada, 2021), illus. (color) 174, pl. 66.Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Masterpieces of Art: In Memory of William R. Valentiner, 1880-1958," April 6-May 7, 1959, cat. no. 85, illus. (b-w).

Durham, NC, Duke University Museum of Art, "Ten Dutch and Flemish Paintings," October 1995- May 1996.

Hickory, NC, The Hickory Museum of Art, "Beyond Likeness: Contemporary Considerations of the Portrait," November 1-December 31, 1997; Wilmington, NC, St. John's Museum of Art, April 30-June 28, 1998; Fayetteville, NC, Fayetteville Museum of Art, July 11-August 30, 1998; Asheville, NC, Asheville Art Museum, September 17, 1998-January 2, 1999; Greenville, NC, Greenville Museum of Art, January 14-February 28, 1999, brochure.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Together Forever: Pendant Portraits from the Permanent Collection," April 18-September 26, 1999. (Closing date extended to October 10, 1999)

Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, “Rembrandt and Amsterdam Portraiture, 1590–1670,” February 18–May 24, 2020, cat no. 63, illus. (color).

Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, “Rembrandt in Amsterdam: Creativity and Competition,” July 16–September 6, 2021; Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum, October 6, 2021–January 30, 2022, illus. (color) 174, pl 66.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–September 5, 2023.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston", September 16, 2023-January 7, 2024.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," June 17, 2024-present. Object Rights Statement

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