Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

s of the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and art and ...

, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as the

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

's circle.Walter A. Liedtke, ''Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Volumes 1-2'', Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007, pp. 223-331 Besides portraits, van der Helst painted a few genre pictures as well as some biblical scenes and mythological subjects.Rudolf E. O. Ekkart. "Helst, Bartholomeus van der." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed 15 May 2017

Life

Bartholomeus van der Helst was born in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

in 1613. His exact date of birth is not known as the birth records of Haarlem of that time are lost. He was the son of a Haarlem innkeeper called Lodewijk and Lodewijk's second wife, Aeltgen Bartels. Van der Helst had moved to Amsterdam some time before 1636, the year in which he married Anna du Pire, an 18-year-old woman from a prosperous family of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

who was already orphaned. The couple had six children of whom one, called

Lodewijk Lodewijk () is the Dutch name for Louis. In specific it may refer to: Given name Literature * Lodewijk Hartog van Banda (1916–2006), Dutch comic strip writer * Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Boon, (1912-1979) Flemish writer * Lodewijk van Deysse ...

(1642 - c. 1684), became a portrait painter like his father.Website about Bartholomeus van der Helst
Pieter Lucaszn van de Venne with Anna de Carpentier 1652 van der Helst

Pieter Lucaszn van de Venne with Anna de Carpentier 1652 van der Helst

His first dated picture, the ''Regents of the Walloon Orphanage in Amsterdam'', dates from 1637. The style of this painting suggests that in Amsterdam van der Helst may have trained with Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy. His first important commission was for a large '' schuttersstuk'' known as the ''Civic Guard led by Captain Roelof Bicker and Lieutenant Jan Michielsz. Blaeuw''. Van der Helst received the commission in 1639 and finished it in 1642. The large 7.5m wide canvas was hung over the fireplace of the grand assembly of the Kloveniers guild, the same room for which Rembrandt painted ''

The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...

''. The success, which the artist achieved with this composition, led to many commissions for single and double portraits of Amsterdam's leading class such as his ''Portrait of Andries Bicker'', the mayor of Amsterdam. The city's military brass and wealthy members of the regent class all had portraits made by van der Helst. Even though van der Helst was active in Amsterdam at the same time as

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...

, he was able to become the most popular portraitist in that city, through his elegant and flattering portrayals in the style of

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

. His work was considered more immediately appealing than the dark, intense and introspective work during this later period of Rembrandt.Bartholomeus van der Helst
at the J. Paul Getty Museum Rare among portrait artists in Amsterdam of his time, he was able to attract bourgeois patrons from other cities such as Rotterdam. His large group portrait, ''Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the

Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United Netherlands and the Spanish Crown, the terms of which were agreed on 30 January 1648. The treaty, parallelly negotiated to but not part of the Peace of ...

'' (

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the ...

, Amsterdam), was painted in 1648, and exhibited to popular acclaim. It was this painting that sealed his fame for future generations, according to the Dutch artist biographer

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) ...

Bartholomeus vander Helst biography
in: ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlandsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', 1718 The painting was admired by

Godfried Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs fr ...

and

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

. Van der Helst received a commission from the circle of the Stadtholder family, when he was asked in 1652 to paint the portrait of Mary, the widow of

William II, Prince of Orange William II (27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three year ...

The artist remained active throughout his life and maintained a high level of production until the end of his career. His late works such as the pendant portraits of Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes and his wife Geertruida den Dubbeld and Vice-Admiral Johan de Liefde (all three dated 1668 and in the Rijksmuseum) still set the trend in portrait painting in his age. The harbour scenes in the background in these three works were painted by

Ludolf Bakhuizen Ludolf BakhuizenLudolf Bakhuizen
at the

who followed his style.Bartholomeus van der Helst
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Marcus Waltes was his pupil in 1650. He had no other known pupils but exerted an influence on Govert Flinck, Eustache Lesueur,

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hist ...

, Alexander Sanders and

Abraham van den Tempel Abraham van den Tempel (c.1622 – 8 October 1672) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography He probably learned painting from his father, also a painter, but who died when he was still quite young, in 1636. That is the same year that he mo ...

. Van der Helst died in Amsterdam in 1670. While he had been able to charge very high prices for his works, he appears to have lived above his means. He had bought a large house at Nieuwe Doelenstraat and acquired many paintings of leading artists such as

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

Simon de Vos Simon de Vos (20 October 1603 in Antwerp – 15 October 1676 in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and art collector. He started his career making small-format cabinet pictures of genre scenes, in particular of Caravaggesque merry co ...

, Goltzius, Adriaen Brouwer, Pieter Lastman, Gerard van Zyl, Simon de Vlieger,

Hendrik Gerritsz Pot Hendrik Gerritsz Pot (c. 1580 – 15 October 1657 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, who lived and painted in Haarlem, where he was an officer of the militia, or ''schutterij''. Dutch artist Frans Hals painted Pot in militia sash in Ha ...

, Otto Marcelis, and Willem van de Velde. After his death his wife was compelled to offer his works and those from his art collection for sale in 1671 in an advertisement in the Haarlems Dagblad. Early 1671 Lodewijk and his sister Susanne assisted their mother when they visited their father's former studio, when his belongings were registered. According to the inventory he owned the

schilder-boeck or is a book written by the Flemish writer and painter Karel van Mander first published in 1604 in Haarlem in the Dutch Republic, where van Mander resided. The book is written in 17th-century Dutch and its title is commonly translated into En ...

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembere ...

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

by Ovid, books by Serlio, Scamozzi,

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

and

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of t ...

; portraits of dutch admirals (

Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer or Egbert Meussen Cortenaer (1604 – 13 June 1665) was an admiral of the United Provinces of the Netherlands who was killed in the Battle of Lowestoft.His second name is also given as ''Bartolomeuszoon'' or ''Me ...

, etc.).

Work

General

In addition to the portraits for which he is most famous, Bartholomeus van der Helst painted a few genre, historical, biblical, mythological, and allegorical scenes. In all these paintings, the portrait aspect is still important.

Portraits

Bartholomeus van der Helst - A young woman holding a sunflower

Bartholomeus van der Helst was principally a painter of portraits. The majority of his work is made up of individual portraits, though he also painted family portraits, double portraits and pendant portraits. An example of the latter are the portraits of Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes and his wife Geertruida den Dubbeld. Among his most prestigious assignments were the group portraits of Amsterdam 'schutters' (civil militia members) and regents. The most famous work in this category is his 1648 ''Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the

'' (

, Amsterdam).Judith van Gent, ''Stilistische ontwikkeling''
at ''Bartholomeus van der Helst blog'' In this large-scale composition depicting 25 people, van der Helst was able to do justice to each individual. He also realised a clear composition through his sophisticated use of light and color. As a portrait painter to Amsterdam's elite, he created life-sized portraits, which responded to the demand of the patricians of Amsterdam for portraits that offered a good likeness rather than an idealized image. His style is characterized by clear drawing, plasticity, even lighting and a pleasant palette relying on light and clear tones. He preferred balanced compositions.Judith van Gent, ''Stilistische ontwikkeling''
at ''Bartholomeus van der Helst blog'' BartholomeusVanderHelst Hinlopen

His early works show the influence of Pickenoy, his presumed master, and to a certain extent of Rembrandt. This is clear in the ''Portrait of an unknown man, probably a Protestant minister'' of 1638 (

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located ...

). It shows a man reading a book who looks up at the viewer as if he has been disturbed, a motive derived from Rembrandt. The vivid representation of the sitter is characteristic of van der Helst's early work. Van der Helst found his own style in the 1640s. The ''Portrait of Andries Bicker'' dated 1642 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) is typical his work from this period: it is well modeled, of a strong plasticity and painted with a barely visible brush stroke. The fashion for the French elegant style was visible in his work after 1650. An example is the ''Portrait of the animal painter Paulus Potter'' painted in 1654. This work was based on a self-portrait of Potter, which he had made shortly before his early death. The gestures and movements of the sitter in the painting are elegant. The artist has further succeeded in rendering the fabrics in a smooth painting style and almost perfect technique. The paintings of the final years of Van der Helst's career are characterized by increased attention to detail and a more even lighting. The subtlety and intensity that characterizes his earlier work has made way for a clarity of expression that leaves nothing to the imagination. The artist also used a more colourful palette and richer contrasts and emphasized more strongly the distinctions between dark and light tones.

Portrait of Gerard Andriesz Bicker

One of Van der Helst's most famous works is the portrait of Gerard Andriesz Bicker at half-length of 1639 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). Van der Helst painted in 1642 a portrait of Andries Bicker, the father of Gerard Andriesz Bicker and the mayor of Amsterdam, as a pendant to this work. The contrast between the two sitters could not be more pronounced: while the father looks like a stern and sober Protestant, the son looks like a fanciful dandy with a smug look in his eyes. At the time the painting was made Gerard Andriesz Bicker was only 17 years old, but already held the titles of ''Lord of Engelenburg'' and ''High Bailiff of Muiden''. This portrait is often used to illustrate the decadent wealth of the Amsterdam merchants of the

in Amsterdam.

Genre scenes

Bartholomeus van der Helst also painted a number of genre scenes. An example of a genre scene by van der Helst is the ''View of the Nieuwmarkt'' (1638,

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the larges ...

, Saint Petersburg), which combines still life, cityscape and figure piece. The composition shows an old woman holding a big wheelbarrow full of vegetables. On her left hangs the carcass of large slaughtered pig. Next to the pig are four children, one of whom blows the pig's bladder while the others look at the viewer. In the background is a view on the Nieuwmarkt with the Sint Anthoniswaag. This work was probably made for van der Helst's private use as it likely depicts the view from his house on the Nieuwmarkt. Another genre scene is '' The Musician'' (1662,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

), which depicts a woman tuning a

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ...

while a

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...

is resting in front of her. Printed music in tenor and soprano parts is placed on a table nearby. The musician looks directly at the viewer as if inviting him to take up the viola da gamba to join her in a duet. While the work has usually been regarded as a genre scene, it is possible that it is in fact a portrait of Anna du Pire, the artist's wife.

Collaborations

As was common in 17th century Dutch artistic practice, Bartholomeus van der Helst regularly collaborated with other specialist artists. A frequent collaborator was

Ludolf Bakhuizen Ludolf BakhuizenLudolf Bakhuizen
at the

Vice-Admiral Johan de Liefde and Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes with the pendant portrait of his wife Geertruida den Dubbeld (all three dated 1668 and in the Rijksmuseum). An interesting case of a collaboration between multiple Golden Age painters is the ''Portrait of Willem van Wyttenhorst''. No less than four painters had a hand in its creation: Bartholomeus van der Helst, Cornelis van Poelenburgh, Jan Both and

Jacob Duck Jacob Duck (also ''Ducq, Duyck, Duick, Duc'') (1600 – buried 22/28 January 1667) was a Dutch painter and etcher.Jac ...

. Van der Helst was responsible for the general composition and Jan Both for the landscape. It is possible that Duck painted the harness as he was a specialist in guardroom scenes (also called 'kortegards'), which depicted soldiers at leisure among their weapons, harnesses and other military gear in a guardroom. It is likely that van der Helst also painted the face but the role of van Poelenburgh is not clear. Van der Helst also collaborated with the animal painter

Jan Baptist Weenix Jan Baptist Weenix, also spelled Jan Baptiste Weeninx (1621–c. 1659) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Despite his relatively brief career, he was a very productive and versatile painter. His favourite subjects were Italian lands ...

on the ''Shepherd boy with sheep and goats''. Bartholomeus van der Helst painted the shepherd boy in the painting. Van der Helst scratched his signature in the wet paint on the boy's collar while Weenix did the same in the wet paint at the upper right. It is believed the painting was intended to be hung over a large fireplace. This probably explains the contrived perspective with the somewhat too large sheep placed right on the edge in the foreground.Jan Baptist Weenix and Bartholomeus van der Helst, ''Shepherd boy with sheep and goats''
at Sotheby's

Nazi-looted art

Van der Helst's “''Little Boy on His Deathbed'',” was seized by Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as part of their campaign to plunder Jewish assets. Recovered after the war by the Allies' Monuments Men, it was returned it to the Dutch government which placed it in a museum. The family of the Jewish Dutch art dealer

Jacques Goudstikker Jacques Goudstikker (30 August 1897 – 16 May 1940) was a Jewish Dutch art dealer who fled the Netherlands when it was invaded by Nazi Germany during World War II, leaving three furnished properties and an extensive and significant art collecti ...

won a restitution battle for the stolen painting fifty years later. Van der Helst's "''Portrait of a Man''", one of hundreds of works looted from the Schloss family in France in 1943, was stolen twice: after the Allies recovered it and before it could be restituted, it was taken by thieves from the Allied collecting point in Munich in 1945. It reappeared for sale at the Im Kinsky auction house in Vienna.

Gallery

File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Paul Potter.jpg, ''Portrait of the animal painter

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

'' File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Portrait of a Boy (blowing Bubbles).jpg, ''Portrait of a boy blowing bubbles'' File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Portrait of Captain Gideon de Wildt - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Captain Gideon de Wildt'' File:Mary Princess of Orange.jpg, ''Mary, Princess of Orange'' File:Daniel Bernard, by Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''The shipowner Daniel Bernard'' File:Jacob Trip (1627-1670), by Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''The arms dealer Jacob Trip'' (1627-1670) File:Aert van Nes (1626-93), luitenant-admiraal, by Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes'' (1626–93) File:Geertruida den Dubbelde, de echtgenote van luitenant-admiraal Aert van Nes, by Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''Geertruida den Dubbeld, wife of Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes'' File:Shepherds boy with sheep and goats, by Jan Baptist Weenix and Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''Shepherd boy with sheep and goats, together with

'' File:The Musician MET ep73.2.R.jpg, '' The Musician'' File:Bartholomeus van der Helst.jpg, ''The artist's wife Anna du Pire as Granida'' File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Jonge ontsluierde vrouw heft een gordijn op.jpg, ''Nude young woman lifting a curtain''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helst, Bartholomeus van der 1613 births 1670 deaths Artists from Haarlem Painters from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch genre painters Dutch portrait painters