Cornelis van der Voort or van der Voorde (c. 1576 – buried on 2 November 1624) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

portrait painter, art collector, art appraiser and art dealer from the early 17th century who was active in Amsterdam.G. Wuestman, 2007, 'Cornelis van der Voort, Portrait of Laurens Reael (1583-1637), c. 1620'
in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam (accessed 20 August 2024 13:45:44) He painted individual portraits as well as group portraits including schuttersstukken depicting local militia members and regentenstukken depicting regents of charitable institutions, a genre of which van der Voort was the inventor.Cornelis van der Voort
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

He played an important role in the development of portrait painting in the early 17th-century Dutch Republic. He is particularly noted for introducing the life-size, full-length format to Dutch portraiture.Cornelis van der Voort, ''Portrait of a lady, three-quarter-length, in a black vlieger brocade gown, with an elongated embroidered stomacher, lace-trimmed cuffs and a cartwheel ruff trimmed with reticella lace''
at Christie's London on 7 July 2016 lot 2

Life

Very little is known about van der Voort's early life. He was likely born around 1576 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

as the son of Pieter van der Voort, a cloth weaver by trade. The family van der Voort moved to the Northern Netherlands in 1585, likely fleeing Antwerp because they were Calvinists. His father received his citizenship of Amsterdam in 1592. It is not known with whom he studied painting. Aert Pietersz and Cornelis Ketel are considered likely masters. As a young man he was praised by the leading art historian and theorist

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander IKarel van Mander
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History ...

. In 1606 his brother Hans, a tailor, bought three parcels on which two houses were built. Hans moved into the one on the corner, and Cornelis in the one next to it. Only a few years later Cornelis sold the house. In 1639

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

and his wife

Saskia van Uylenburgh Saskia van Uylenburgh (; 2 August 1612 – 14 June 1642) was the wife of painter Rembrandt, Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life, she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings, and etchings. She was the daughter of Rombert ...

moved in. Today it is the Rembrandt House Museum. Around 1613 he was a member of a

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

in Amsterdam and painted a few schuttersstukken. In 1619 he was the head of the Guild of St. Luke. At some time before 1620 he inherited the house on the corner of the

Sint Antoniesbreestraat The Sint Antoniesbreestraat ("St. Anthony's Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The street runs south from Nieuwmarkt square to the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates, where it continues as the Jodenbreestraat. ...

from his brother. Van der Voort probably had seven children and married twice: in 1598 with Geertrui Willems, who died in 1609, and in 1613 with Cornelia Brouwers. He died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and was buried on 2 November 1624. In August 1625 his inventory was sold. In 1626 his art business was taken over by Hendrick van Uylenburgh. His widow moved to

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

Schuttersstuk met elf personen Amsterdam Museum SA 7434

Work

Van der Voort painted full-length portraits in contemporary interiors: e.g. of Jan Cornelisz. Geelvinck as one of the ''

regenten The ''regenten'' ( Dutch plural for ''regent'') were the rulers of the Dutch Republic from the 16th through the 18th century, the leaders of the Dutch cities or the heads of organisations (e.g. "regent of an orphanage"). Though not formally a her ...

'' of a hospital, of Joan Huydecoper and his late wife and of

Nicolaes Tulp Nicolaes Tulp (9 October 1593 – 12 September 1674) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character and as the subject of Rembrandt's famous painting ''The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' ...

. His work was in great demand and held in high esteem. He had a strong influence on the early portraits of

, as well as the work of Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy and

Thomas de Keyser Thomas de Keyser (c. 1596–1667) was a Dutch portrait painter and a dealer in Belgium bluestone and stone mason. He was the most in-demand portrait painter in the Netherlands until the 1630s, when Rembrandt eclipsed him in popularity. Rembra ...

. His own students included David Bailly,