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The Old Violinist
Frans van Mieris, the Elder (Dutch, 1635–1681)
1660
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
27.9 x 21 cm (11 x 8 1/4 in.)
Framed: 40.6 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm (16 x 16 x 2 in.)
Framed: 40.6 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm (16 x 16 x 2 in.)
Credit Line
Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession NumberL-R 254.2017
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
As a top practitioner of fine painting (fijnschilderij), Frans van Mieris’s style required meticulous care. Here, the artist depicts a violinist, sitting in an inn. His violin rests on a ledge nearby, as a barmaid tabulates his drinks on the wall. Note how Van Mieris honed his technique, capturing the textures of the violinist’s velvet doublet, the smooth surface of a polished wood table, and the light ruffles of the feather in his hat.
ProvenanceCornelis Wittert, Lord of Valkenburg (b. 1672 – d. 1733), Rotterdam; April 11, 1731, Lord Valkenburg sale, Rotterdam, lot 32, bought in; October 7, 1733, Lord Valkenburg sale, Rotterdam, lot 14, sold to Jan van Loon [see note 1]. 1765, probably Jacob van Reygersberg, Lord of Couwerve and Crabbedijke (b. 1709 – d. 1762), Middelburg; July 31, 1765, Lord of Couwerve sale, van der Eyk, Leiden, lot 33, sold for 1100 fl. to brothers Pieter Bisschop (b. about 1690 – d. 1758) and Jan Bisschop (b. 1680 – d. 1771), Rotterdam; 1771, Bisschop collection sold to Adriaan Hope (b. 1709 – d. 1781) and John Hope (b. 1737 – d. 1784), Amsterdam [see note 2]; by descent through John Hope to his cousin Henry Hope (b. 1736 – d. 1811), London; by descent to John's son Henry Phillip Hope (b. 1774 – d. 1839), London; by descent to his nephew Henry Thomas Hope (b. 1808 – d. 1862), London; by descent to his widow, Anne Adele Bichat Hope (d. 1887), London; by descent to her grandson, Henry Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope (d. 1941), London; July 26, 1898, sold by Pelham-Clinton-Hope to Colnaghi and Wertheimer (dealers), London [see note 3]. Ludwig Neumann (b. 1859 – d. 1934), London; July 4, 1919, Neumann sale, Christie's, London, lot 9, sold to F. Parker. March 13, 1929, half-share sold by Colnaghi, London, to M. Knoedler and Co., New York (stock no. A580); September 30, 1929, half-share sold back to Colnaghi [see note 4]. Leonard Gow (b. 1859 – d. 1936), Camis Eskan, Dunbartonshire; May 28, 1937, Gow estate sale, Christie's, London, lot 100, sold for £1120 to W. E. Duits Ltd. (stock no. 6932), London and Amsterdam; about 1946, sold by Duits to B. Brenninkmeijer, The Netherlands [see note 5]; until about 1998, by descent within the Brenninkmeijer family; sold by Brenninkmeijer family to Sotheby's, New York and Anthony Speelman (dealer), London [see note 6]; 2000, sold by Sotheby's and Speelman to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA.
NOTES:
[1] This painting was sold as by Gerard Dou, with the same description as lot 32 of the previous Lord Valkenburg sale in 1731. The buyer information is according to the Getty Provenance Index online (catalogue N-A120).
[2] According to E. Wiersum, “Het Schildekijen-Kabinet van Jan Bisschop te Rotterdam,” Oud Holland 28 (1910), p. 164.
[3] According to The Hope Collection of Pictures of the Dutch and Flemish Schools (London, 1898).
[4] Knoedler Book 8, Stock no. A580, p. 73, row 16.
[5] According to the Duits stock card (no. 6932) and daily diaries held at the Getty Research Institute. The date of the sale is not indicated. Quentin Buvelot, Frans van Mieris 1635-1681 (The Hague, 2005), cat. 22, notes the Brenninkmeijer family acquired the painting around 1946.
[6] According to Buvelot (as above, n. 5), p. 227.
NOTES:
[1] This painting was sold as by Gerard Dou, with the same description as lot 32 of the previous Lord Valkenburg sale in 1731. The buyer information is according to the Getty Provenance Index online (catalogue N-A120).
[2] According to E. Wiersum, “Het Schildekijen-Kabinet van Jan Bisschop te Rotterdam,” Oud Holland 28 (1910), p. 164.
[3] According to The Hope Collection of Pictures of the Dutch and Flemish Schools (London, 1898).
[4] Knoedler Book 8, Stock no. A580, p. 73, row 16.
[5] According to the Duits stock card (no. 6932) and daily diaries held at the Getty Research Institute. The date of the sale is not indicated. Quentin Buvelot, Frans van Mieris 1635-1681 (The Hague, 2005), cat. 22, notes the Brenninkmeijer family acquired the painting around 1946.
[6] According to Buvelot (as above, n. 5), p. 227.