Willem Willemsz. van der Vliet

Commissioned directly from the artist by the sitter Willem de Langue in 1626;
Thence by descent to his great-grandson Jacob van der Lely, Delft, according to the inventory of 1795 (inv. nos. 1 and 2);
Collection Alphonse Balat, Architect of the Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels;
Collection Sir George Leon, London;
With Knoedler & Co., New York;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 13 December 1978, lot 93;
Bought by the family of the present owners in Amsterdam in the 1980s.

The Hague, Koninklijke Kunstzaal Kleykamp, Oud Hollandse en Vlaamse Meesters, 1930 - 1931, nos. 36 and 37;
Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Vermeer tentoonstelling, 1935 - 1936, nos. 93 and 94, reproduced plate 8 and 9.

Inventory Mr. Jacob van der Lely, 1795, nos. 1 and 2 (The Hague, Hoge Raad van Adel, Familiearchief van der Lely van Oudewater, inv. no. 163);
J.W. Montias, 'Vermeer and his Milieu: Conclusion of an Archival Study', Oud Holland, 94, no. 1, 1980, pp. 47-8, reproduced p. 48, fig. 1;
J.W. Salomonson, 'The officers of the White Banner: a civic guard portrait by Jacob Willemsz Delff II, Simiolus, 18, no. 1/2, 1988, pp. 47-8, reproduced p. 48, fig. 17 (detail);
J. van der Veen, in D. Haks a.o., De Hollandse Samenleving in de tijd van Vermeer, The Hague 1996, pp. 132-5, reproduced p. 129;
M.J. Bok, 'Society, Culture, and Collecting in Seventeenth-Century Delft', in W. Liedtke a.o., Vermeer and the Delft School , New Haven 2001, pp. 207-8, reproduced on p. 208.

The actual paintings are less red and more subtle in tone, with more detail showing. Especially the head of the lady is less red. Both panels are cradled and consist of 3 planks, joined vertically. In the panel of the man a vertical retouched split can be seen running along the right edge, in the panel of the lady, a vertical retouched crack can be seen, in the left panel. The joins are retouched and therefore visible to the front. A thin retouched surface scratch is visible in the headdress of the lady. Both paint surfaces seem to be in overall good condition, but do show thinness, along the woodgrain, e.g. in parts of the clothing, tablecloths, hands, background. Tiny old scattered retouchings can be seen in those areas as well. Inspection under Ultra Violet light reveals a dirty and unevenly applied varnish layer, small area of retouching to the right of his head, in his hat, a couple of tiny ones in his face, two tiny ones in her face, more in her hand and dress and in both tables. Offered unframed. (MW/ML)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The last time this pair of portraits appeared on the art market, the importance of notary Willem de Langue and his wife Maria Pijnacker, for the artistic life of Delft and above all their connection to one of the most important artists of the 17^th Century, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), had not yet been established for the larger public. Although the identities of the sitters were known at the time of their sale in 1978, the main archival research done by J.M. Montias on Vermeer and Delft had not been published and thus the important connection to Vermeer and Delft had not been noticed. When Montias published his first archival findings on Vermeer and his Family in Oud Holland in 1977, he had already come across a document, dated 22 April 1653 (fig. 1), which showed that both the artists Johannes Vermeer and Gerard ter Borch had visited Willem Reyersz. de Langue that day, a mere two days after Vermeer's marriage.¹ But only in his conclusive article in 1980, was Montias able to go into further depth on the role that De Langue played for Vermeer's family. He points out that Vermeer's father had known Willem de Langue at least since 1629, when he began to witness documents for him. Being the family notary, De Langue had also drawn up the will of Vermeer's parents in 1638 and dealt with other family business.² 

In 1623 Willem de Langue had been administered as a notary in Delft and he married Maria Pijnacker in 1625 (fig. 2). These portraits are prior to any known acquaintance with the Vermeer family, as they are dated 1626. However, De Langue's importance for Delft's artistic life not only resulted from this connection, but also from his relations with many other artists active in Delft. Artists like Evert van Aelst, Balthasar van der Ast, Leonaert Bramer, Willem van den Bundel, and of course Willem van der Vliet, all belonged to his clientele.³ It is not surprising that De Langue associated himself with artists, as he was fond of the arts himself. A booklet, dating from the years 1620-24, still exists,⁴ in which he, among others, has written rederijkers poetry, starting off with a laudatory poem on his future wife, Maria. Both he and Maria enjoyed the arts: he elicits in his poem for Maria, that their spirit was 'const dorstich' .⁵

Furthermore, through a note in the diary of schoolmaster David Beck, who visited De Langue in 1624, we learn that De Langue owned an art collection of his own.⁶ Unfortunately, an inventory of De Langue's art collection does not exist. A sales announcement of 1655 (fig. 3) for a sale that De Langue organised just one years prior to his death, mentions various paintings from all kinds of masters. It gives an interesting insight in the art market of Delft in the middle of the 17^th Century, but it does not necessarily mean De Langue owned the works himself. However, in a document dated 1691, containing his daughter's possessions, we do get a glimpse of his inventory, as many of her belongings had previously belonged to her father. It mentions five paintings by Leonaert Bramer, a portrait of De Langue by Jacob Delff, a landscape by Roelant Saverij, among many other names, including Rembrandt. The young Vermeer is not mentioned on the list, but given the fact that he only started working as a painter when De Langue was not an active buyer anymore, this is hardly surprising.⁷Whether the present two portraits are mentioned in this document of 1691 remains yet unknown. It is however highly likely, because we do know that they ended up in the estate of his great-grandson Jacob van der Lely.⁸

It is not surprising that Willem van der Vliet received the commission for these two portraits, given the fact that he belonged to De Langue's clientele. In 1626, he was, besides Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt, to whom he may have been apprenticed, one of the main portraitists in Delft. We do not know much about Van der Vliet's life and his work is rare on the art market. Apart from a painter of portraits, he was also active as a genre and history painter, in which he showed a more Utrecht Caravaggesque influence. His portraits, however scarce they are, show a remarkable quality. For instance, the rendering of the lace in the headdress of Maria, the cuff on De Langue's right sleeve, as well as the shimmering satin in both their attires, are superbly handled. Through the posture of De Langue, with his hand resting nonchalantly on his hip, Van der Vliet is able to add a certain informal grandeur. He uses the same posture again, in a portrait, now in the Louvre, Paris, dated 10 years later (fig. 4).  By  placing both husband and wife next to the same table, set with objects that are important to them, he not only paints their portraits, but also gives them a real and tangible setting. The pair relates well to each other; the confidence De Langue radiates, is subtly subdued by the modest look of his wife.

1. See J.M. Montias, 'New Documents on Vermeer and His Family', Oud Holland, vol. 91, no. 4, 1977, pp. 280-1, no. 46a.
2. See J.M. Montias, 'Vermeer and his Milieu: Conclusion of an Archival Study', Oud Holland, vol. 94, no. 1-2, 1980, pp. 47-8.
3. op. cit., p. 48, note 21.
4. The booklet is kept at the University Library, Ghent, Handschrift 1447, fol. 1 r-v. See J. van der Veen, in Haks under Literature, pp. 132-3, note 36.
5. Translation: hungry for art.
6. op. cit., p. 133, note 39.
7. op. cit., p. 133.
8. In this inventory list of Jacob van der Lely, we also find a portrait of De Langue and Daniël van Brugge by Jacob Willemsz. Delff II (no. 33) which could be identified with the portrait mentioned on the inventory list of De Langue's daughter of 1691. See Salomonson under Literature, pp. 48-9, note 125.