Artwork

Portrait of Cornelis Sebille Roos, Art Dealer in Amsterdam and Inspector of the National Konst-Gallery and the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague

Portrait of Cornelis Sebille Roos, Art Dealer in Amsterdam and Inspector of the National Konst-Gallery and the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Adriaan de Lelie. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Technique & Style

Executed in 1815, the portrait is painted in oil on canvas and measures 68 cm in height by 54.

Executed in 1815, the portrait is painted in oil on canvas and measures 68 cm in height by 54.3 cm in width. The handling combines smooth modeling of the sitter’s facial features with broader, descriptive brushwork in the costume and background, a manner characteristic of early nineteenth-century Dutch portraiture. Stylistically, the composition centers on the figure’s head and shoulders, framed by a neutral backdrop that directs attention to the finely observed details of Cornelis Sebille Roos’s physiognomy and attire.

The restrained palette and careful chiaroscuro underscore the sitter’s dignified bearing within a restrained, official register appropriate to his roles as art dealer and inspector.

History & Provenance

The portrait was commissioned in 1815 by Cornelis Sebille Roos himself, then serving as Inspector of the National Konst-Gallery and the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. Painted by Adriaan de Lelie in that year, the work entered the collection of the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands, later part of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains held. Its creation coincides with Roos’s professional role in overseeing Dutch national art institutions, reflecting both his public standing and the cultural emphasis on portraiture of cultural officials at the time.

The painting is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. According to Wikidata records, the work is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection and was owned by the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands, with its location listed as the Rijksmuseum. The work was created in 1815 by Adriaan de Lelie as an oil-on-canvas portrait of Cornelis Sebille Roos.

No specific accession number or detailed exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

Overview

Adriaan de Lelie’s oil portrait, executed in 1815, presents the elderly Cornelis Sebille Roos, a prominent Amsterdam art dealer and official responsible for the National Konst‑Gallery and the Huis ten Bosch. The composition is restrained, set against a muted green backdrop that isolates the sitter, whose white hair and calm expression convey a sense of dignified experience. The work belongs to the Rijksmuseum’s collection.

Subject & Meaning

Cornelis Sebille Roos, then in his seventies, is shown as a figure of cultural authority, reflecting his dual role as a commercial art broker and a governmental overseer of public collections. His direct gaze and subtle smile suggest confidence in his expertise and a personable demeanor, aligning with the early‑nineteenth‑century ideal of the learned patron of the arts.

Portrait of Pieter Meijer, publisher and bookseller of Amsterdam, Hendrik Pothoven

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Artist & collection

Artist

Adriaan de Lelie

Adriaan de Lelie (19 May 1755 – 30 November 1820) was a Dutch painter. He was born in Tilburg. De Lelie was a pupil of A. Peeters, a painter of tapestries and ornaments, and afterwards of Andreas Bernardus de…