Artwork Page for Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch

Details / Information for Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch

Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch

c. 1665–70

Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt

(Dutch)
Culture
Netherlands
Medium
oil on wood
Measurements
8.9 x 7 cm (3 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
L. E. Holden Fund 2017.105
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The domed building in the background of this portrait is the Marekerk, one of Leiden's most distinctive architectural landmarks.

Description

Held in the hand or displayed in a private domestic space, miniature portraits were designed for intimate viewing. The sitter holds a watch, often a symbol of mortality and the passage of time. Like his colleague Gerrit Dou, Slingelandt was one of the Leiden fijnschilders (fine painters), a group of artists whose paintings were internationally recognized for their extraordinary detail and precise technique.
An oval oil portrait in fine brushstrokes depicts a man with light skin tone, wavy, shoulder-length brown hair, and eyes looking at us. He turns slightly to our right, wearing a reddish-purple robe over a white shirt. His right hand holds a silver pocket watch. To our right, a thick stone column stands before a distant building and light blue sky, the figure emerging from a dark, shadowy background.

Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch

c. 1665–70

Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt

(Dutch)
Netherlands

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