RKD STUDIES

By 1648, Samuel van Hoogstraten was once again living and working in Dordrecht. In this phase of his life, he pursued his path as an independent artist. And apart from producing works of art, he also taught young artists. He did not break through in the market but continued to practise his skills. In doing so, he leaned heavily on his second teacher Rembrandt, producing variations on his work.

A small-figured painting of The risen Christ appearing to his apostles dates from the year 1649 [16]. As in the earlier Adoration of the shepherds, Van Hoogstraten based this painting on an example by Rembrandt from 1634, which the latter presumably painted for the Amsterdam Mennonite merchant and art lover Ameldonck Leeuw, at whose house the Van Hoogstraten (likewise a Mennonite) may have seen it.¹ Van Hoogstraten made several drawings, starting with a free copy after the Rembrandt painting, and then developing his own interpretation. As Rembrandt more often did with Biblical scenes in the 1640s, Van Hoogstraten placed the figures in his drawing in the setting of a seventeenth-century Dutch living room. When comparing his final 1649 painting with Rembrandt’s example, it is striking how the motif of the upright man recurs, whilst the composition has become much more stilled. The figures have been placed at a greater distance from Christ, and the figure of Thomas is not clearly accentuated – he appears to be the kneeling figure to the right of him. Christ turns his gaze to the viewer of the painting as the recipient of the revelation, a potential doubting Thomas.

In the years just before 1650, Van Hoogstraten also worked on an ambitious Self-portrait, in which he leans out of a doorway in antiquated costume while drawing [17]. This painting must have been intended – in the tradition of Rembrandt’s self-portraits – as an impressive calling card, expressing both his status as a Rembrandt pupil and advertising his skill in illusionism. A drawing in Paris served as preparation for this painting [18]. Based on the dress, which is contemporary, in particular the small collar and doublet with close-fitting sleeves and long row of buttons, this drawing can be dated between 1647 and 1649.² Van Hoogstraten possibly depicted here one of his first pupils in Dordrecht, in the pose he had in mind for his self-portrait. In the final painting, Van Hoogstraten modified the shutter, abandoning the illusion of it projecting forward: instead, the wooden shutter hangs down, and the stack of papers creates a more subtle illusionistic effect of a foreshortened element projecting into the foreground.

16
Samuel van Hoogstraten
The risen Christ appearing to his apostles, dated 1649
Mainz, Landesmuseum Mainz, inv./cat.nr. 1180

17
attributed to Samuel van Hoogstraten
Self-portrait, c. 1648
Sint-Petersburg, Hermitage, inv./cat.nr. ГЭ-788

18
Samuel van Hoogstraten
Self-portrait at a window, c. 1642
Paris, Fondation Custodia - Collection Frits Lugt, inv./cat.nr. 2012-T.4