Pieter Quast, 'A Standing Man', probably 1630-5
About the work
Overview
Bathed in a bright spotlight, a man stands alone in front of a fairly plain background. His clothes – he is wearing boots with spurs, a short cape and a wide brimmed hat with an ostrich feather – suggest that he is a soldier.
Quast made a number of small full-length portraits of sitters in similar poses to the one depicted here. However, it is not known whether this painting is a portrait or a generic image of an anonymous soldier that can be related to the popular guardroom scenes of the time.
This image was painted over part of another painting: we can see the ghostly shapes of a figure on horseback, moving from right to left, accompanied by another figure walking next to the horse. Quast, who also painted history subjects, probably reused and cut down a panel that was in his studio.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Standing Man
- Artist
- Pieter Quast
- Artist dates
- 1605/6 - 1647
- Date made
- probably 1630-5
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 35 × 23.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by the Misses Rachel F. and Jean I. Alexander; entered the Collection, 1972
- Inventory number
- NG6410
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1973The National Gallery, The National Gallery: January 1971 - December 1972, London 1973
-
1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
More works by Pieter Quast
