Adrianus van IJsselstein

Sloet van Zwanenburg;
Asch van Wijck.

The actual paintings are a bit less red in tone, but overall the illustrations in the catalogue are representative. Both canvasses are relined (wax). A few repaired tears can be seen in the gentleman's face and one near his shoulder, otherwise both canvasses are in good condition. Small scattered retouchings can be seen in the coat of the man, in his sleeve and in the background. Inspection under UV light confirms this and furthermore reveals small scattered retouchings in the background of the lady's portrait, one larger area in the upper left corner, and along the lower and right edge. The varnish layer is dirty and unevenly applied. Offered in a plain gilt frame (gentleman) and a decorative carved and gilt wood frame, with floral top (lady), in good condition. (ML)
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In 1653 Adrianus van IJsselstein married Catharina Bloemaert and thus became the son-in-law of Utrecht painter Hendrick Bloemaert (circa 1601 - 1671). From 1647 until 1650, Adrianus resided in Rome, where he was given the name 'the Loose' by the Bent-veughels. However, it was not for his rapid brushwork that the painter was referred to as 'the Loose', but for his licentious behaviour and rather unedifying activities in Rome, which were described in a poem by Matthijs van de Merwede, Lord of Clootwijk.¹ Roethlisberger praises Van IJsselstein for his elegant and skillful portraiture, but he also rightfully describes him as troublemaker. The Bloemaert family was not particularly pleased with Catharina's choice in marriage, as the legal proceedings against Van IJsselstein in the endless dispute over the estate of Hendrick Bloemaert attest to.² From 1654 onwards, Adrianus was recorded as a portrait painter in Utrecht, where he would stay until his death in poverty in 1684.


1. M. van Merwede Lord of Clootwijk, Uyt-heemsen Oorlog ofte Roomse Mintriomfen (Foreign War of Roman Love Conquests), third edition, no place of publication listed, 1676, p. 191. See M.G. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his sons, Doornspijk 1993, p. 596, nt. 72.
2. See Roethlisberger, op. cit., pp. 601-7.