Technical and art-historical research on a group painting from 1635 in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp has resulted in the discovery of the identity of the sitters. The first article of Oud Holland (133-2) reveals the outcome and presents the sitters as the Delft doctor Cornelis van der Heijde and his family.

The second article reconsiders the life and oeuvre of the remarkable artist Leendert van Beijeren (1619-1648). He appears to be an important pupil of Rembrandt, with his own style of monumental figures. However, he died already at the age of 29 years.

‘Selling paintings to Sweden’ discusses the contents of four unpublished letters by the painter Toussaint Gelton (ca. 1630-1680) to a Swedish count. This correspondence provides a rare insight into the relationship between a painter and his powerful patron.

The final article considers the WIC’s lavishly crafted gold box from 1749 within the framework of the Dutch-African gold trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It concludes that the discourse between haptic and optic sensory responses could have provoked conflicting narratives for the owner, Willem IV.

Contents

Frans Grijzenhout, Gwen Borms, Julia van Marissing & Sophia Thomassen
A Delft family portrait (1638) by Jan Daemen Cool

Jeroen Giltaij
Leendert van Beijeren (1619-1648): ‘Disipel’ van Rembrandt

Angela Jager
Selling paintings to Sweden: Toussaint Gelton’s correspondence with Pontus Fredrik de la Gardie

Carrie Anderson
Between optic and haptic: Tactility and trade in the Dutch West India Company’s gold box

Oud Holland

The oldest surviving art-historical journal in the world is a Dutch periodical. Oud Holland began life in 1883 with articles on art from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance period as well as the seventeenth century. With its numerous groundbreaking contributions – from important archival finds to major art-historical discoveries – Oud Holland has established an impressive reputation for itself. For subscriptions see the RKD-website.