Dutch painter, a pupil of Karl van Mander. He probably came into contact with Frans Hals, whose large-scale genre scenes he sometimes imitated. His artistic production, however, was oriented towards portraits and small-sized genre paintings. The small genre scenes in carefully worked-out interiors show their debt to Willem Buytewech.
A colonel, three captains, two lieutenants, three sergeants, a reserve officer and the troop’s servant are portrayed on the staircase of their shooting gallery, the St Adrian Gallery. A small part of the guard portrait painted by Cornelis van Haarlem in 1583 is visible through the window.
A small part of the guard portrait painted by Cornelis van Haarlem in 1583 is visible through the window.
In this painting the artist combines the genre scene and portraiture; the portrait of the woman is integrated into an everyday scene. There is a companion-piece, Portrait of a Man, portraying obviously the husband of the unidentified woman.
Formerly the painting was attributed to Antonie Palamedesz.
Jacob van der Merckt (1599-1653) was an Amsterdam merchant, who traded with Italy, the Levant and Greenland, and was the Regent of the Aalmoezenierweeshuis (Orphanage) in Amsterdam. He married Petronella Witsen (1602-1676) in 1628. The present pictures are marriage portraits. The sitters are identified by labels pasted to the backs of the panels.
Pot favoured small-scale full length portraits as exemplified by the present panels.
The initials “HP.” with which the painting is signed for a long time deceived critics into thinking its author was Horatius Paulyn. At the beginning of the twentieth century the painting’s attribution was changed in favour of Pot.
The artist was mainly a portraitist, but he also tried his hand at genre scenes.
A young woman surrounded by valuables holding a letter in her hand. Four-poster bed, dog, parrot and lute indicate love. The young woman cannot see the old woman behind her with skull and flower. They allude to the transience of earthly life.
