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Portrait of Jean de la Chambre at the Age of 33

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Holding a quill in his right hand, the man in this portrait has turned his head towards us, creating the feeling that we have just interrupted his work. He gives us a questioning look, as if he is waiting for an explanation for the interruption. The sitter is Jean de la Chambre (1605/6–1668), a distinguished calligrapher and master of the French School in Haarlem.

Compared to the ambitious large-scale portraits of members of the ruling classes for which Frans Hals is known, this is a relatively unassuming – but nonetheless powerful – work. It was painted as a model for an engraving executed by the Haarlem printmaker Jonas Suyderhoef. The engraving was used as the frontispiece for a book published by Jean de la Chambre in the same year, which contained six engraved plates of examples of his calligraphy.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Portrait of Jean de la Chambre at the Age of 33

Date

about 1638

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 20.6 x W 16.8 cm

Accession number

NG6411

Acquisition method

Presented by the Misses Rachel F. and Jean I. Alexander, 1972

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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