{"id":537,"title":"Portrait of a Burgomaster","medium":"Oil on canvas","classification":"Paintings","dimension":"48 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. (122.87 x 100.01 cm) (canvas)","object_name":"Painting","continent":"Europe","country":"Netherlands","nationality":"Dutch","dated":"c. 1665–70","room":"G311","role":"Artist","inscription":"Signature","signed":"(signed on balustrade): [B. van der helst f.]\r\n\r\nTaken from the 1970 MIA catalogue, however this cannot be confirmed. In a letter to Willem van de Watering dated May 9, 1988, George Keyes writes, Our conservator was able to find no trace of a signature anywhere on the painting so that the catalogue reference to a signature presumably refers to an inscription removed when the picture was last cleaned, although the conservation report [1963] makes no reference to an inscription, or its removal, at that time.","text":"He wears his wealth on his sleeves. The lace on his vest front and cuffs, handmade from precious threads of gold and silver, are the most expensive element of his lavish ensemble. Such finery fuelled controversy in Holland, where Protestant preachers lauded frugality, because it used scarce resources for the sake of vanity. This man, who may have been a city leader (burgomaster), made some concession to modesty with his black suit. But he clearly had a flair for fashion.","creditline":"Bequest of John R. Van Derlip in memory of Ethel Morrison Van Derlip","accession_number":"35.7.106","artist":"Attributed to Bartholomeus van der Helst","life_date":"Dutch, 1613–1670","department":"European Art","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":7072,"image_height":8724,"recent":0,"see_also":[],"sort_number":"35     7  106","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":0,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"000000\\500\\30\\537","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_6003796.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","related:audio-stops":[{"title":"van Der Helst, Portrait of a Burgomaster, Jacobus Trip","_id":"537","objectId":"537","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p685.mp3","number":"685","type":"audio"}],"related:artstories":[{"title":"Portrait of a Burgomaster","_id":"537","objectId":"537","description":"<p>You can tell this man is rich by the wealth he’s literally wearing on his sleeves: metal lace handmade from threads worth their weight in gold and silver. It was the most expensive part of his lavish clothing. In fact, lace like this is hard to find now because it was often melted down to make new lace in the latest pattern or converted back into currency.</p><p>Such finery created controversy in Calvinist Holland, where Protestant preachers advocated simple, thoughtful living. Removing precious resources from circulation in the name of vanity wasn’t what they had in mind. Some countries, though not the Netherlands, did actually outlaw metallic trimmings during economic crises.</p>","link":"http://artstories.artsmia.org/#/o/537","type":"artstory"}],"mtime":"2026-02-04T06:00:50.797Z"}