Attributed to Dirck Dircksz. van Santvoort

Standing holding a parrot on a black and white tiled floor

Heinrich Maas;
Thence by descent until purchased by Richard Green;
With Richard Green, London;
From whom purchased by the present collector.

The colours are a touch warmer in the original than they appear in the catalogue illustration. The support consists of three vertical panels cradled to the reverse. The two panel joins are just visible in the paint surface and there is an old vertical crack of 14 cm. running down from the centre of the top edge. The paint surface is secure and in good condition with the details and pigments nicely preserved throughout under an even varnish. Inspection under UV light reveals some retouching work along the aforementioned joins and crack. It also reveals a line of old restoration of 11 cm in her left cheek, along the line of her lace collar in the dark pigment underneath and an old diagonal line of restoration of 12 cm to the right of her waist, scattered minor restorations are dotted elsewhere. The lace of her collar and cap are largely untouched. Offered in a stained wooden northern style frame in good condition.
"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."

Though not signed, this delightful portrait of a child manifests many stylistic affinities with Dirck Dircksz. van Santvoort, the leading painter of children in Amsterdam in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. Though the date on this work is several years earlier than Santvoort's earliest signed and dated portrait (1636; Portrait of Willem van Loon, now Amsterdam, Museum van Loon) there are noticeable stylistic links, especially in the flesh tones, with it.¹  Santvoort alternated, especially in the 1640s, between the conventional and more sophisticated; of the latter his 1644-dated portraits of Martinus and Clara Alewijn reflect the taste for the pastoral, while of the former his 1641/42 presumed portrait of Simon van Alteren is a good example.²  He was born of fine artistic stock being a grandson of Pieter Pietersz. and thus a great-grandson of Pieter Aertsen.


1. See J.B. Bedaux & R. Ekkart eds., Pride and Joy. Children's Portraits in the Netherlands 1500-1700, exhibition catalogue, Haarlem and Antwerp 2000-2001, p. 158, no. 30, reproduced.
2. Ibid., pp. 186-9, nos. 43-44, both reproduced, and p. 180, no. 40, reproduced, respectively.