Zacharias Webber the Younger

Acquired directly from the artist in the 1680s;
Thence by descent to the present owners.

Probably E.W. Moes, Iconographia Batava, Amsterdam 1897 and 1905, vol. I, p. 55, no. 452 and vol. II, p. 200, no. 5847.

The actual paintings are more subdued and less blue in tone than the catalogue illustrations suggest. Both canvass are unlined, but retain much of there bounce. Stretcher marks are visible to the front. Both paint layers are under a dull and discoloured layer of varnish. There is a fine craquelure throughout in both paintings, which is slightly beginning to lift in some areas. In the male portrait there's a small damage along the left edge, and some tiny paint losses along the upper and right edges. In the female portrait there are some tiny scattered losses along the lower and right edge. Two repaired and retouched damages are visible in her skirt, and a few additional retouchings can be observed in the upper centre and along the right edge. Inspection under UV-light reveals no further retouchings. In both paintings, particularly in the lace, all subtle details are still intact. Overall, both paintings are in good restorable condition. Offered in plain black ebony parcel-gilt frames, in good condition. (MW)
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The relatively unknown Amsterdam artist Zacharias Webber was not only a painter, but also an engraver and etcher. Besides portraits, he also painted decorative ceilings, of which an example is in a private collection, Amsterdam.

That Webber painted the portraits of Gerard Beeldsnijder is not surprising. While the Beeldsnijder family originally came from the eastern province of Gelderland, in the 17th and 18th Century they were mainly active as merchants in Amsterdam. Gerard Beeldsnijder lived here all his life and was an ironmonger. In 1670 he is recorded as a Standard Bearer for the Civil Guard and in 1684, he married Johanna de Penijn. Together they had two sons. In 1697 he is recorded as a Lieutenant and in 1706 as Captain.¹ The house which can be seen in the background of these two portraits most likely represents the Beeldsnijder's country house.

The fact that these two portraits have never left the family of its original owners is quite unusual. In fact, both portraits are recorded, together with more portraits of the Beeldsnijder family, in a painting by Adriaen de Lelie, which will be offered in these Rooms on 29 October 2008 (see fig. 1).² In this work, two members of the Beeldsnijder family are situated in a room decorated with portraits of their ancestors, the present paintings among them. The two pairs of 17th Century portraits in the centre of this painting by De Lelie represent the parents of Gerard, Wijer Beeldsnijder (1611-1693) and Maria Rotterdam (1628-1671) and two other family members. Both original pairs were sold in these Rooms, 22 May 1990, lots 41 and 42.

1. See J.E. Elias, De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795, Amsterdam 1963, vol. II, p. 582.
2. Furniture, Clocks, Silver, Ceramics and Decorative Arts sale, Amsterdam, 29 October 2008, lot 60.