Portrait of Willem van Lokhorst (1514-64), Jan van Scorel (copy after), 1554 – (Jan Van Scorel) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: Jan Van Scorel

Date: 1554

Size: 64 x 49 cm

Technique: Oil On Panel

Portrayed half-length, Willem van Lokhorst, Lord of Lokhorst, stands before a greenish-grey background, wearing a black baret and cloak over a black garment whose appearance is somewhat difficult to make out due to the painting’s condition. As he looks out at the viewer, Willem’s right hand rests on his hip while the left grasps the hilt of a sword. The identification of the sitter was made by Hoogewerff, who noted the similarity to the portrait of Willem van Lokhorst in Münster.9 The Münster portrait’s identification derives from the Lokhorst coat of arms in the upper right corner and a description of the painting in a 17th-century inventory as ‘tconterfeytsel van Heer Wilm van Lockhorst Heere van Lockhorst Heemsteede Slijdrecht etc’ (portrait of Sir Wil[le]m van Lockhorst, Lord of Lochorst, Heemstede, Slijdrecht, etc.).10 It is well known that Jan van Scorel had close connections to members of the Lokhorst family, particularly the Utrecht clerics, Herman van Lokhorst, Dean of Oldminster (St Saviour’s) and his natural son, Willem, who was one of Scorel’s fellow canons in the Utrecht Mariakerk. Scorel and Willem probably met in Rome, where both stayed on for a while after the untimely death of the Dutch pope, Adrian VI, in September 1523. It was probably through Willem that Scorel met Herman van Lokhorst, who became the artist’s important benefactor and patron upon his return to Utrecht from Italy.11 The sitter in this portrait, however, is a member of the knightly branch of the Lokhorst family. He is Willem, the son of Gerrit van Lokhorst, Lord of Lokhorst, whom some believe is the knight portrayed on the outer wings of Jan van Scorel’s Lokhorst Triptych in Utrecht.12 Willem belonged to the branch of the family that settled in Leiden, where he was not only a burgomaster but also a member of the town council and the polder board (‘hoogheemraad’) of Rijnland.13 In 1549, Willem inherited the title, Lord of Lokhorst, which later passed to his brother, Vincent, along with the seigniories of Heemstede, Lievendael, Slydrecht and others. Upon Vincent’s death in 1595, this branch of the Lokhorst family died out.14 Comparison of the Rijksmuseum painting with the portrait of Willem van Lokhorst in Münster reveals telling similarities and differences. It was not until 1997 that the Münster portrait was associated with Jan van Scorel by Faries.15 Before that it had usually been considered a work by Maarten van Heemskerck, because it was described as such in the 1651 inventory.16 Only De Vries deviated from the general opinion and made reference to Antonio Moro.17 In 1980, Grosshans rightly de-attributed the work, noting the lack of any stylistic similarities to Heemskerck’s portraiture.18 Without question, the modelling in Willem’s face in Münster follows Scorel’s portrait method: there is an impasto build-up in the forehead and around the eyes, while the nose and cheek are painted more thinly, bringing out the planar structure of the head.19 The steady gaze out at the viewer, in this case of Willem’s blue-grey eyes, is a typical feature of Scorel’s portraits. The technique is also similar, for although only a little underdrawing could be revealed in the face, long, undulating contours - probably in black chalk - were detected in the hands.20 The features in the Amsterdam portrait are identical to those in Münster: the shape of the head, fleshy mouth, nose, angled, upper eyelids, and prominent cheekbone are exactly the same. A computer overlay of the two heads yielded an almost exact match in every detail.21 The painting technique differs, however, since the Amsterdam portrait lacks texture and is modelled in a flatter, more schematic manner, as might be expected of a copy. The 1554 date accords well with the dendrochronological estimate. Although these dates still fall in Jan van Scorel’s lifetime, there are no obvious aspects of technique or execution that would allow us to consider the Rijksmuseum portrait a product of Scorel’s workshop. Since the two paintings must nonetheless be related, it is likely that the Amsterdam painting was based on the Münster portrait or a model common to both. M. Faries, 2010 Literature updated, 2016