Portrait of a man - Pieter Nason (1612 - 1688)

PIETER NASON
Amsterdam 1612 - in or after 1688 The Hague
“Portrait of a man”
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right, on the base of the column: “P. Nason f/1663”
Dimensions: 87 x 69 cm, (framed)

THE ARTIST
Pieter Nason was a prominent but still relatively understudied Dutch Golden Age portraitist, active in The Hague during the mid-17th century. He was one of the 47 founding members of the Confrerie Pictura, a society established in 1656 that sought to elevate the status and professionalism of painters in The Hague.
Although archival traces are limited, it is likely that Nason trained under Jan van Ravesteyn, a well-established portraitist of the preceding generation, and perhaps also with Nicolas Eliasz. Pickenoy in Amsterdam. His earliest known works date to the early 1640s, and he maintained an active and successful practice through the 1680s. By the mid-1660s, Nason had gained enough international recognition to be invited to work at the court of the Elector of Brandenburg in Berlin (1666–1668). There, he painted various high-profile sitters and even produced a portrait of King Charles II of England in 1663, suggesting he may have briefly worked in England as well.
Nason's portraits are characterized by their refined brushwork, harmonious tonality, and elegant representation of aristocratic sitters. His style shares affinities with Bartholomeus van der Helst his Amsterdam contemporary whose works, at the time, enjoyed greater popularity than those of Rembrandt. Nason's best portraits blend the sobriety of Dutch realism with the opulence of courtly display, creating dignified yet approachable likenesses.

THE ARTWORK
This Portrait of a Gentleman, signed and dated 1663, is an exceptional example of Pieter Nason’s mature period. The sitter is portrayed half-length, dressed in a sober but richly textured black robe with a meticulously painted white lace collar and cuffs, a key indicator of his social standing. His hand rests comfortably on a chair arm, the pose relaxed yet composed, with a hint of understated confidence. Behind him, an ornate curtain and column setting adds architectural gravity to the composition, situating the sitter within a space of cultivated affluence.
This portrait embodies many of the ideals of 17th-century Dutch portraiture: restraint, detail, dignity, and quiet display of wealth. The treatment of the lacework is especially fine, each loop and embroidery thread rendered with precision, and reflects the sitter’s fashion awareness as well as his economic means. The overall palette, based in deep blacks, soft creams, and warm flesh tones, is harmonious and elegant, adding to the refined mood of the portrait.
The inclusion of drapery, architecture, and a distant landscape through the columned window demonstrates Nason’s familiarity with Flemish conventions and his ambition to frame the sitter not merely as a face but as a figure of social and intellectual stature.