ATTRIBUTED TO JAN DAEMEN COOL | Portrait of Gouthier de Hulter, half length

oil on panel

Comtesse Marie-Thérèse de la Béraudière (circa 1866-1958), Paris;
Her sale, New York, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, 11 December 1930, lot 46 (as Peter Meerte);
With Pulitzer Gallery, New York in London (as Jan Cornelisz Verspronck);
From whom acquired by a private collector, circa 1957;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

'Benezit Dictionary of Artists', vol. IX, Paris 2006, p. 692 (as Peeter Meerte).

The panel is uncradled and has the right top corner beveled. It consists of three boards with two joins that run vertically, one through the sitter's shoulder at left the other at right. There are some minor losses associated with the joins, like for example at top right, where the white appears. The image reads handsomely, though the paint may have thinned like with the dark tones of the robe. Here there is also some delicate cracking that is barely visible and stable. Some retouches might be on the sitter's cheek at right, and along his nose, and on his gown, though these are difficult to read under the inspection of UV due to a thick varnish. Scattered retouches could be here and there, but they are for the most part concentrated on the joins. The panel is offered in an elaborately carved gilded frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Jan Daemon Cool was a pupil of Michiel van Mierevelt. The artist specialized in painting portraits of the affluent residents of Rotterdam, which became one of the major economic centers of Holland during the 17th Century. One of the main reasons for the flourishing wealth of the city was its thriving trade, which the sitter of the present painting participated in.

Gouthier de Hulter, though born in Gorinchem, was a merchant in madder based in Rotterdam. He married Helena Willemdr. Warmont in 1639 and had three children: a daughter named Beatteris in 1642, a son named Mattheus in 1644, and a son named Gautier  in 1646. Gouthier went bankrupt in 1649 and then fled from the city of Rotterdam.

We are grateful to Dr. Sabine Craft from the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistoriches Documentatie for suggesting the attribution on the basis of photographs and for her help in the cataloguing of this lot.

A note on the provenance:

The family of de la Béraudière is one of the most ancient and distinguished of Western France. There history goes back to as early as 1190 when Jean de la Béraudière, a knight, took part in the Third Crusade and whose name is in the great list of Crusaders at Versailles. Their genealogy from the thirteenth century onward became fully established with a long list of distinguished noblemen, such as the great collector Jacques-Victor, Comte de la Béraudière (1808-1884). He continually purchased artworks to add to the collection he had inherited from his ancestor. The collection was kept between his château of Bouzillé, near Angers, and his homes in Paris. His collection was so extensive that when he died, part of it was auctioned off and the other went directly to his heirs. Many of the artworks were passed on to Comtesse Marie-Thérèse de la Béraudière (circa 1866-1958), who grew the collection by adding several valuable pieces she purchased. The taste and eye of the Béraudières is undeniable and makes them one of the few private art collections that can date back to circa 1860.