Egbert van Heemskerck the Elder

1 portrait matching these criteria:

- subject matching 'Art in art'

Egbert van Heemskerck the Elder, by Egbert van Heemskerck the Elder, circa 1680-1685 -NPG 6651 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Later Stuart Portraits Catalogue

Egbert van Heemskerck the Elder

attributed to Egbert van Heemskerck the Elder
circa 1680-1685
30 in. x 25 in. (765 mm x 640 mm)
NPG 6651

This portraitback to top

The pose indicates a self portrait and the identification of Heemskerck the elder seems reasonable. [1] The head compares well enough with the engraved self portraits, though here he wears a scruffy wig; the Tavern Scene he displays is wholly characteristic of his English work. [2]
Similar sounding pictures by Heemskerck the elder are recorded: a portrait of ‘Heemskirk smoaking, painted by him Selfe.1687’ was in the collection of Adrian Beverland (1653-1712?) in 1702, [3] perhaps the ‘picture about a foot long, and Hemskirk smoaking his pipe by himself’ which belonged to the painter Charles d’Agar in 1723. [4]

Footnotesback to top

1) The attribution (not the identity) was questioned by Fred Meijer (letter of 30 June 2005 on file) who suggested the execution could be more characteristic of the son, Egbert van Heemskerck II (c.1676-1744) but, according to their respective dates (the father d. 1704), this would make NPG 6651 extremely difficult to place within his father’s lifetime.
2) It may be compared, for example, with the Interior of a Farm House at Wilton dated 1677 (R. Raines, 'Notes on Egbert van Heemskerck and the English Taste for Genre', Wal. Soc., LIII, 1987, p 126, fig.185).
3) R. Raines, 'Notes on Egbert van Heemskerck and the English Taste for Genre', Wal. Soc., LIII, 1987, p 120.
4) G. Vertue, Notebooks, Wal. Soc., XVIII, 1930, I, p 116.

Provenanceback to top

Cobbold family, Glemham Hall, Suffolk, from at least 1919 [or 1923];1 P. Hope-Cobbold, from whom purchased through Lane Fine Arts 2003.

1 Capt J. M. Cobbold married 1919 Blanche, daughter of 9th Duke of Devonshire; they were given some items from Devonshire House (then being demolished) but it is not known whether NPG 6651 was among them.


This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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