The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 12, 2026

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
oil on wood
8.9 x 7 cm (3 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)
L. E. Holden Fund 2017.105
Location: Not on view

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.
  • Sept. 4, 2016
    (Schloss Ahlden, Ahlden, Germany, September 4, 2016, no. 1094)
    Sept. 4, 2016 - 2017
    (Phillip Mould & Co., London, by whom sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch|url=false|author=Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt|year=c. 1665–70|access-date=12 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2017.105