Paulus Verschuur (1606–1667), was a Dutch mayor of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, known today for his portrait by

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

. He was born in Rotterdam as the son of a textile merchant from

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 ...

. He married Maria van Berckel in 1631, and three years later combined his business with that of his father-in-law. He served seven terms as burgomaster of Rotterdam and was also a director of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. It is unknown why Verschuur travelled to Haarlem to have his portrait made.Paulus Verschuur
in ''Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', by Walter A. Liedtke, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007 In 1910

Hofstede de Groot Hofstede de Groot is a Dutch surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Petrus Hofstede de Groot (1802–1886), Dutch theologian * Cornelis Hofstede de Groot Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (9 November 1863 – 14 April 1930), was a Dutch ...

documented this portrait with the following description: "Portrait of a Man M. 136. He stands, seen almost to the knees. He is turned three-quarters right, and looks at the spectator. He rests his right hand on his hip. His left arm is enveloped in his cloak; in the gloved left hand is his right-hand glove. He wears a black coat and cloak, a close-fitting lace collar, and a black felt hat. Signed with the monogram, and inscribed on the right, "AETAT SVAE 37. AN 1643"; canvas, 46 inches by 35 inches or 27 1/2 inches, according to the Bosch sale catalogue. Etched by J. Klaus. Exhibited at the Hudson-Fulton Celebration, Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1909, No. 35. Sale. Ad. Jos. Bosch, Vienna, April 28, 1885, No. 20 (14,010 florins, Kaiser). In the collection of Mrs. Collis P. Huntington, New York."Hofstede de Groot
on "Portrait of a Man"; catalog number 360 The sitter of this painting was only identified in 1954 after discovery of a copy made in 1700 by Pieter van der Werff for the Rotterdam chamber of the East India Company.

References

1606 births 1667 deaths Mayors of places in the Dutch Republic Mayors of Rotterdam Frans Hals Dutch East India Company people from Rotterdam {{Netherlands-painter-stub