Michiel van Musscher

Object category: painting
Support/medium: panel, oil paint
Shape/dimensions: rectangle (portrait format) 37.4 x 28.6 cm

Signature/inscription Information about the signature, dating, inscription or any other mark on the front or back of the art work

remnants of signature and date on the back: [....] Pinxit 1673
jaartal thans (2012) onleesbaar (zie Gerhardt 2012, p. 12); 'the illegible inscription along the reverse may include a date of 1673' (Annette Rupprecht in Van Tuinen 2017, p. 8)

Current attribution: Michiel van Musscher
F.G. Meijer, January 2013: see comments below 'onderwerp'
Rejected attribution: Domenicus van Tol
see Sale 1773 and literature

Date Exact or approximate dating of the described art work; the search parameters adopted for this art work in this database, are found in brackets.: 1673 dated (1673)

dated '1673'on the reverse according to Gerhardt 2012, p. 12; 'the illegible inscription along the reverse may include a date of 1673' (Annette Rupprecht in Van Tuinen 2017, p. 8)

Subject

Title Title of the art-work in Dutch: Zelfportret van Michiel van Musscher (1645-1705
Other (former) title Other title(s) or name(s) which the work of art has had, or by which it is also known. This sometimes involves rejected identifications of the subject or sitter.: Selfportrait of Domenicus van Tol (?-1676)
English title: Portrait of the artist in his studioe - Self-portrait of Michiel van Musscher (1645-1705)
Genre: portrait
Keywords: man's portrait, self-portrait, young man, knee-length portrait, head to the right, body facing right, sitting, facing front, hand gesture, mutche, long hair (men's hairstyle), knotted cravat, banyan, palette (painting equipment), artists' brush, globe, opened book, watch, paper (sheet), interior as background, painters studio (work space), easel, wooden floor, window, drapery (representation)
Iconclass code Iconclass codes and text contain specific scenes and names. An Iconclass code or notation is a code from the multi-lingual Iconclass system for subject retrieval. For more information about this system, see www.iconclass.nl.: 48C513
portrait, self-portrait of painter
48C515
tools, implements of painter
: F.G. Meijer (jan. 2013): toont qua fysionomie sterke gelijkenis met het zelfportret van Van Musscher uit 1679 (RKDimages no. 16295) en zou gezien de leeftijd van de schilder (tweede helft twintig) in de eerste helft van de jaren 1670 zijn ontstaan, wat op stilistische gronden ook goed te verdedigen is en wat bevestigd lijkt door de (verdwenen) datering 1673 achterop. Van Van Tol is geen (ander) zelfportret bekend, zodat vergelijking van de fysionomie niet mogelijk is. Stilistisch is er enige verwantschap met het werk van Van Tol, vooral in de draperie en in de achtergond, maar veel minder in de behandeling van de figuur en het bijwerk. Als zelfportret van Van Tol zou het gezien de leeftijd van de kunstenaar in de eerste helft van de jaren 1660 moeten zijn ontstaan, wat niet onmogelijk, maar minder waarschijnlijk lijkt. Het algehele coloriet komt goed overeen met dat van Van Musscher en aanzienlijk minder met dat van Van Tol. Ik neig er dientengevolge sterk toe de identificatie als en toeschrijving aan Van Musscher verre te preferen boven die als en aan Van Tol. In dat geval is het schilderij mogelijk al (ruim) voor 1773 van toeschrijving veranderd. F.G. Meijer (Jan. 2013): shows a strong resemblance in physiognomy to the self-portrait of Van Musscher from 1679 (RKDimages no. 16295) and is thought to have been made in the first half of the 1670s, given the age of the painter (second half of the twenties), which is also well defensible on stylistic grounds and which seems to be confirmed by the (disappeared) date 1673 on the back. No (other) self-portrait is known of Van Tol, so that comparison of physiognomy is not possible. Stylistically, there is some connection with Van Tol's work, especially in the drapery and in the background, but much less in the treatment of the figure and the side effect. Given the age of the artist, it should have emerged as a self-portrait of Van Tol in the first half of the 1660s, which seems impossible, but less likely. The overall colorite matches well with that of Van Musscher and considerably less with that of Van Tol. As a result, I tend to prefer the identification as and attribution to Van Musscher far above that as and to Van Tol. In that case the painting may have changed (well) before 1773.

IB number Number related to the portrait iconography collection RKD.: 27843

Michiel van Musscher 1645-01-27 - 1705-06-20

Name

Musscher, Michiel van

Sex

m

Date/place of birth

Rotterdam (stad) 1645-01-27

Date/place of death

Amsterdam (stad) 1705-06-20

Occupation

kunstschilder, etser, kunstverzamelaar

Marriage(s)

1678-07-30
201066/Visscher, Eva
Amsterdam (stad) 1693-06-17
Elsie Klanes

Children

Catrina Musscher
Catarina Musscher
Johannis Musscher
Michiel van Musscher

Domenicus van Tol 1635 - 1676

Name

mogelijk Tol, Domenicus van

Initials

D.

Sex

M

Date/place of birth

Bodegraven 1635

Geboortedatum: [circa]

Date/place of death

Leiden (stad) 1676

Buried

1676-12-26

Occupation

Kunstschilder

Marriage(s)

1670
...

Identification based on: Te Rijdt 2012

Artistically related to other work Such as a preparatory studie, comparable composition, other version, or copy of the artwork in this record.

inspired by
Gerard Dou, Zelfportret van Gerard Dou (1613-1675)
Van Musscher adopted the pose, motifs such as the curtain, the opened book and the globe as well as the easel in the background. (Gerhardt et al. 2012, p. 12)
motif(s) similar to
Gerard Dou, Jonge vrouw aan een klavichord
similar draperies

Collection(s)

Galerie dr. Benedict & Co., Berlin
from Russia (note on cardbord mount in documentation ONS)
1932-06 - gesignaleerd
Private collection
1999 - gesignaleerd
The Leiden Collection, New York City , inv./cat.nr MM-103
2012 - reported

Auction(s)

Yver, Pieter (Amsterdam (city)) 1773-08-25 - 1773-09, afb. zonder afbeelding, lotnr. 464
Name buyer : Fouquet , 200 gulden

, possibly this picture, as selfportrait of Domenicus van Tol
Remy (Paris) 1774-11-21 - 1774-12, lotnr.
Contributor Comte Du Barry
565 Livres

, given the description most likely the painting from the Van der Marck auction, 1773; sizes specified as: 13 sur 10 [pouces] (33 x 25 cm)

Exhibitions

Michiel van Musscher: de weelde van de Gouden Eeuw Museum van Loon , Amsterdam (city) , 2012-03-09 - 2012-06-10

Literature

Buijsen/Dumas/Manuth 2012 , R.-J. te Rijdt, 'Het toeval helpt een beetje: Tibout Regters – Jan Verkolje – Dominicus van Tol', p. 465-472, fig. 7 , as selfportrait of Domenicus van Tol
Gerhardt et al. 2012 , p. 12-13, fig. 3 (color) , as selfportrait of Michiel van Musscher
Bergvelt/Jonker 2021 , in entry Gerard Dou, Rel. works, no. 15, note 43

M. Russell, 'The Artist in His Studio: A Self-Portrait by Michiel van Musscher', Apollo 127 (1988), p. 9-15, fig. 6
NRC of 4 May 2012, p. 23, afb. in kleur
M. Jonker, 'Tapijtenkoning', Museumtijdschrift 2 (2012), p. 48-50, ill. in color
E. Runia, ‘De attributen van het vak’, Mauritshuis in Focus 28 (2015), no. 3, p. 16-21, esp. p. 20, ill. (color)
M. Jonker and E. Bergvelt, Catalogue of Dulwich Picture Gallery. Dutch, Flemish and German Schools, with addenda to the British School, published online as a RKD Study on 18 March 2021 [an enlarged version of Jonker & Bergvelt 2016], under DPG56 (Gerard Dou; RKD, no. 250405), Related works, no. 15, note 43

Correspondence: corr. 99-498

Visual documentation

Location image Location of the image in the visual documentation.

BD/Digital Collection (img.nr. 0000372695)
BD/Digital Collection (img.nr. 0000323172)
on Van Musscher, Original location BD/RKD/0610 - ONS/Portraits 3 (img.nr. 0000339390)

Project: Connect Vermeer

External links: I. van Tuinen, 'Portrait of the Artist in His Studio', in: A.K. Wheelock Jr. (ed.), The Leiden Collection Catalogue, New York (accessed April 2020)
in Bergvelt/Jonker 2021, in entry Gerard Dou

Permalink: https://rkd.nl/explore/images/228340

Creation date: 2012-08-13; Last modified date: 2022-09-19

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Michiel van Musscher

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