Portrait of Cornelis de Koningh, Director of the Rotterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company, elected 1649 1695 - 1722

Pieter van der Werff painted this portrait of Cornelis de Koningh, a director of the Dutch East India Company, using oil on canvas. Look closely, and you can see the artist’s attention to the materials and the labor that went into them. The dark, heavy cloak would have been made from high-quality wool, dyed with expensive pigments, like indigo, sourced from afar. The painting captures the sheen and texture of the fabric, conveying the wealth and status of the sitter. Van der Werff’s skill is also evident in the way he has manipulated the oil paint to create a lifelike representation. Layer upon layer, he built up the image with meticulous brushwork. The artist paid particular attention to the face, rendering the sitter’s features with remarkable detail and capturing his somber expression. Consider how this painting served as a testament to the Dutch East India Company’s power. By depicting de Koningh, the artist was not only immortalizing an individual but also celebrating the culture of trade and its associated social hierarchy.