Self-Portrait, Wybrand de Geest, 1629 – (Wybrand Simonsz. De Geest) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: Wybrand Simonsz. De Geest

Date: 1629

Size: 71 x 55 cm

Technique: Oil On Panel

The identification of this pendant pair showing the artist himself (shown here) and his wife, Hendrickje Uylenburgh (see SK-A-1781), is based on the inscriptions on the back of both works (figs. a-b), which may date from the 17th century but are probably not in De Geest’s own hand, as De Vries had suggested.3 It is more likely that a later owner recorded the sitter’s identities for posterity. That the inscriptions are reliable is suggested by the statements of the precise dates of birth, coupled with the fact that De Geest’s date of birth fits within the chronological order of Houbraken’s biographies in the Groote Schouburgh.4 Moreover, the physical resemblance to the (posthumously published) portrait of De Geest in the Groote Schouburgh does nothing to detract from the identification. The companion portraits have traditionally been attributed to De Geest. Although there is no reason to doubt this, their lamentable condition makes it difficult to assess the style. That being said, the type of portrait fits well within De Geest’s oeuvre. Both works are related to the portraits of Jacob de Witt and Anna van de Corput of 1630,5 while the self-portrait is very comparable to the portraits of Johannes van den Sande and Theodorus Saeckma of 1638.6 The provenance from a Frisian collection also reinforces the attribution to De Geest. There is a striking similarity to the Self-Portrait of Daniel Mijtens, datable around 1630, but there are no indications that the two artists were in touch.7 The rather flat, plain oak frames, the broad bottoms of which have a gently curving ogee shape, are probably original. Paint traces in the grain of the wood show that they were originally lacquered black.8 Yvette Bruijnen, 2007 See Bibliography and Rijksmuseum painting catalogues See Key to abbreviations and Acknowledgements This entry was published in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, I: Artists Born between 1570 and 1600, coll. cat. Amsterdam 2007, no. 78.