Cornelis Troost
, Dutch, 1696-1750
Title
Portrait of Jeronimus Tonneman and his Son Jeronimus (‘The Dilettanti’)Date1736
MediumOil on wood panel
Dimensions
68 x 58 cm
Signedlower right: C. Troost / 1736
Credit LinePurchased, 1909
Object numberNGI.497
DescriptionTroost was the most important artist of eighteenth-century Holland, when Dutch painting had passed its peak. He was extremely versatile both in his subject-matter and technique. Troost’s satirical paintings earned him the nickname ‘the Dutch Hogarth’ after his English contemporary. Generally considered to be Troost’s masterpiece, this portrait represents the renowned eighteenth-century art collector Jeronimus Tonneman and his son. Although Tonneman is primarily famous for his collection of paintings by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century, he was also an avid patron of contemporary artists, including Troost. Tonneman is represented here as a man of culture. On the table lies Karel van Mander’s Schilder-Boeck, one of the most significant treatises on the art of painting published in the Low Countries during the seventeenth century. The stucco relief of Time Revealing Truth and Banishing Slander is included here for a moral purpose, as is the roundel over the mantelpiece depicting Mercury Killing Argus, a story linked by Van Mander to the pursuit of wealth and empty fame. Ironically, young Jeronimus was to stab his mistress and flee Holland in 1637.
March 2016
ProvenanceJeronimus Tonneman the Younger; by descent to his daughter Mrs P.H. de la Court; collection Douaire de la Court-Ram, Utrecht, 1894; Christie's, 12 June 1899, J. van Citters sale, lot 78; Dowdeswell; collection Ward, London; purchased, S. Richards, London, 1909 Exhibition HistoryOude schilderkunst, Utrecht, 1894
Cornelis Troost en zijn tijd, Museum Boymans - Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1948
Drie Eeuwen Portret in Nederland, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1952
European Masters of the eighteenth century, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1954-1955
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Dutch Masterpieces from the eighteenth century, Institute of Arts, Minneapolis; Museum of Art, Toledo; Museum of Art, Philidelphia, 1971-1972
Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, London, 1985
Master European Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
Label TextCornelis Troost was the most important artist of eighteenth-century Holland, when Dutch painting had passed its peak. He was extremely versatile both in his subject matter and technique. Troost’s satirical paintings earned him the nickname ‘the Dutch Hogarth’ after his English contemporary. Generally considered to be Troost’s masterpiece, this portrait represents Jeronimus Tonneman and his son. Tonneman assembled one of the largest collections of paintings by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. On the table lies Karel Van Mander’s Schilder-Boeck (1604), one of the most significant treatises on the art of painting published in the Low Countries.