Portait of Paulus Potter

Artist/Maker

Material / Technique

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 18,8 x 14,5 cm h x w: Passepartout 55 x 42 cm h x w x d: Ram 60 x 47 x 3,5 cm

Inventory numberNMH 1872/1863

AcqusitionÖvertagande 1866 från Kongl. Museum

Other titlesTitle (sv): Porträtt av konstnären Paulus Potter Title (en): Portait of Paulus Potter Title (fr): Portrait de Paulus Potter

DescriptionDescription: Black and white chalk, 188 x 145 mm. All corners cut except the one at the upper right. Watermark: Horn, close to Haewood 2626. Chain lines: 23–24 mm. Numbered in the lower right corner, in pen and brown ink, 2, and on the mount, in pen and brown ink, 1681 (Sparre). Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638). Meder first connected this drawing with Bartholomeus van der Helst’s portrait of Paulus Potter in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, dated 1654. The pose is similar but not identical, the model is wrapped in a cloak, and there is no chair, easel or palette. Rather than posing in his studio, he gives the impression of a traveller. Broos has interpreted the drawing as a self-portrait by Potter. In support of this view, he argues that there are no drawings by Van der Helst, and that the virtuoso handling of the chalk points to Potter. He compares it to the “acknowledged masterpieces” like Deer in a Wood. The painting would then be a posthumous portrait based on the drawing. This reasoning is inconclusive at best. There are no portraits by Potter, while there might in fact be other portrait drawings by Van der Helst (cf. entry no. 180). A red chalk copy in a private French collection was considered by Parker and Mathey to be a copy by Watteau, made when the drawing was in Crozat’s collection. That attribution has been rejected by Rosenberg and Prat. [Magnusson, Dutch Drawings no. 179]

Depicted Person

Collection

Geographical origin

MaterialBlack chalk (Crayon), Paper

TechniqueDrawing