A portrait of a man by Caspar Netscher

The work, housed at Aulteribe Castle, remained in the castle’s storerooms for a long time, alongside a portrait of a woman which is probably its counterpart, but which has not yet been restored. The man, whose left arm rests on a table covered with a tapestry, wears a brocade coat lined with red satin. The patron requested that books be depicted behind his left arm, whilst the right-hand edge of the painting opens, in a very traditional manner, onto a garden at twilight – a composition found in the work of many^17th-century Flemish portrait painters. The richly embroidered coat is characteristic of the fashion of the 1670s–80s, as illustrated by a series of fashion figures representing society, published by the Dutch artist Romeyn de Hooghe.

The quality of the facial modelling—precise and highly realistic—links this painting to the Northern School. The colour palette, the typical pose used by the portraitist Caspar Netscher (1639–1684)—with the left arm resting on a support—the landscape background, and the refined brushwork intended to render textures, particularly those of the carpet and fabrics, have led to this work being attributed to the painter. However, other painters, such as Jan Verkolje (1650–1693), employed this same formal vocabulary, as demonstrated by the portrait of Petronella Boogaart painted in 1679 and held at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe. The styles of the two artists differ, however. Jan Verkolje’s palette is lighter and the modelling of the flesh tones tends towards a porcelain-like effect, whereas Caspar Netscher’s flesh tones are denser, without this porcelain-like quality. The painting thus appears to be by Caspar Netscher, in keeping with the style found at the château. It should be noted that this portrait is of imposing size, measuring over one metre fifty in height by one metre twenty in width, which distinguishes it from other paintings of private individuals, which are of a more modest size. The subject, who remains unidentified, has commissioned an official portrait here, as indicated by the prominent medal, the nature of which has not yet been identified.

Caspar Netscher (1639–1684) was a leading portrait painter of the Dutch Golden Age of the^17th century, a period marked by advances in science, the arts and, above all, the economy in the Netherlands. His fame rivalled that of other great Dutch portraitists such as Willem Drost (1633–1659), Caesar van Everdingen (1616–1678), Govert Flinck (1615–1660), Frans Hals (1580–1666) and Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693).

In 1654, in Deventer, he became a pupil of the famous painter Gerard ter Borch (1617–1681), of whom he was one of the most talented pupils, to the extent that he appeared as a model in several of Gerard ter Borch’s works. Having settled in The Hague in 1662, he successfully turned his hand to portraiture, notably painting the portrait of Charles II as well as portraits of the English and Dutch nobility. When King William III of England became his patron (1662), his income enabled him to indulge his passion for genre scenes, depicting musicians or scenes from everyday life, in which he excelled at the meticulous rendering of fabrics, silks, brocades and carpets.