Who painted Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes'?

Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes' was painted by François Verwilt in 1669-01-01.

Where can I see Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes'?

Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes' is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes'?

Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes' is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes'?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes' are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Portrait of a boy, called 'The son of Admiral van Nes' by François Verwilt (1669)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Long titled "Het zoontje van den Admiraal" (The son of the Admiral), the work was traditionally identified as a son of Lieutenant-Admiraal Aert van Nes.

The painting depicts a young boy shown full-length in a slight bow, dressed in a fitted coat with half-length sleeves and a flat lace collar decorated with small clover-leaf motifs (akertjes). In his right hand he holds a dark hat trimmed with white plumes, and in his left a walking stick and a pair of gloves. He stands on a floor of black-and-white tiles, with a balustrade and a view through to a garden beyond, a compositional formula typical of Dutch family portrait pendants.

Long titled "Het zoontje van den Admiraal" (The son of the Admiral), the work was traditionally identified as a son of Lieutenant-Admiraal Aert van Nes. Research has shown that Aert van Nes did not marry until 1684, so the boy portrayed in 1669 cannot be his son. The sitter is more likely Jan van Nes Jr. (c. 1661–1681), son of schout-bij-nacht (later vice-admiraal) Jan Jansse van Nes.

In format and setting, balustrade with garden view, the portrait closely matches the pendants of Jan van Nes and his wife Aletta van Ravensberg painted by Ludolf de Jongh, suggesting it was conceived as part of that family ensemble.

Technique & Style

The painting is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 114 × 92.5 cm, and signed and dated “f.verwilt 1669” at lower left.

The handling is consistent with seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture: the boy’s face and hands are rendered with smooth, blended transitions to model form, while the costume, including a dark, plumed hat, gloves, and walking stick, receives sharper, descriptive brushwork. The background opens via a balustraded garden vista, and the tiled floor employs a controlled checkerboard pattern to stabilize the composition. The palette is subdued, relying on earth tones and restrained accents in the lace collar and hat trim to focus attention on the sitter’s poised, formal demeanor.

No specific conservation history is recorded in the cited sources.

History & Provenance

Painted by François Verwilt in 1669, this portrait depicts Jan van Nes Jr. (c. 1661–1681), the son of Vice Admiral Jan Jansse van Nes. The work remained within the Van Nes family for over a century before being sold in 1800. Frans Munnikhuizen, a former Lutheran minister in Rotterdam, acted as the seller, having likely acquired the piece from Jan van der Hey, a Rotterdam wine merchant and grandson of Jan Jansse van Nes.

Munnikhuizen originally requested 6,000 guilders for a group of five family portraits but was negotiated down to 4,000 by C.S. Roos for the Nationale Konst-Gallery in Huis ten Bosch. The museum, a predecessor to the Rijksmuseum, subsequently listed the work in its 1801 inventory as "De zoon van Aart van Nes met den hoed in de hand."

The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It entered the national collection in 1800 when C.S. Roos purchased it for the Nationale Konst-Gallery from Frans Munnikhuizen, who had acquired it from the Van Nes family estate. Early inventories listed the work as the son of Admiral Aart van Nes, though later research identified the sitter as Jan van Nes Jr.

The work was exhibited in 1955–1956 at Museum Willet-Holthuysen as part of the exhibition "Kind en kinderleven in Nederland 1500 - 1900" (Child and Child Life in the Netherlands 1500–1900).

Context

The painting entered the Rijksmuseum collection through the 1800 acquisition of five family portraits from the Van Nes household by C.S. Roos, purchased from Frans Munnikhuizen for 4000 gulden. Subsequent inventories identified it as 'De zoon van Aart van Nes' (1801), 'Portret van de zoon van admiraal A. van Nes' (1801 Waldorp), and 'Het zoontje van den Luitenant-Admiraal Aart van Nes' (1809 Koninlijk Museum). The 1902 Rijksmuseum guide adopted the title 'Het zoontje van den Admiraal', a designation later reinforced by catalogues from 1909 and 1934.

Scholarship identifies the subject as Jan van Nes Jr. (ca. 1661–1681), son of Jan Jansse van Nes, with the work's pendant status confirmed by its inclusion among multiple family paintings from the Van Nes-Ravensberg estate. The 1955–1956 exhibition 'Kind en kinderleven in Nederland 1500–1900' at Museum Willet-Holthuysen featured the painting. The work measures 114 cm by 92.5 cm and is signed 'f.verwilt 1669' in the lower left corner.

Overview

Executed in 1669 by Rotterdam‑based painter François Verwilt, this oil portrait presents a young boy identified as the son of Admiral van Nes. The work belongs to the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the portraiture typical of the Dutch Golden Age, combining a modest scale with meticulous attention to dress and surface detail.