Portrait of Pieter de la Court 1667

This is Abraham van den Tempel’s ‘Portrait of Pieter de la Court’, made with oil paint sometime in the mid-17th century. Looking at this painting, one can immediately see the sheen of prosperity. De la Court’s dark velvet robe, finely rendered in oil, speaks to the textile trade that made the Netherlands a global power. The black dye itself would have been a precious commodity. Likewise, the artist’s skill in depicting the play of light on the fabric’s surface, the lace collar, and even the subject’s elegantly posed hands, all point to a culture of artisanal expertise and an economy that valued such refined skills. Oil painting, with its capacity for layering and blending, was itself a relatively new technology at the time, a means of image production that conferred status. Van den Tempel has used it here to full effect. It’s easy to overlook how this picture is not just an image, but a testament to the value of craft within the Dutch Golden Age.