Artwork
Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch
Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created in 1670, the Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch is an oil painting executed on a panel support.
Created in 1670, the Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch is an oil painting executed on a panel support. The work is classified within the genre of portraiture and originates from the Netherlands. As a product of Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt's practice, the piece demonstrates the artist's handling of oil paint applied to a rigid wooden surface, a standard technique for Dutch portraiture of the period. The Cleveland Museum of Art currently holds the work in its collection.
History & Provenance
Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch is an oil painting on panel created in the Netherlands in 1670 by Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt. The work remained in the artist’s native region before entering the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under accession 2017.105. Its provenance records the transfer from an unspecified private ownership to the museum in 2017, reflecting the typical 17th‑century Dutch portrait practice of commission and execution. The painting’s dating is anchored to the year 1670, corroborated by both stylistic analysis and archival records.
Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch by Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt, dated 1670, is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art. According to the Wikidata record for the work, its inventory designation at the museum is 2017.105, and it is catalogued as an oil-on-panel portrait produced in the Netherlands. The painting is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection.
No prior exhibition history beyond its inclusion in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection is documented in the available sources.
Overview
This oil painting from 1670, titled Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch, was created by Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt, a prominent Dutch Golden Age artist. The work depicts a male figure in a formal pose, prominently displaying a timepiece. This finely rendered portrait is currently part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art, representing a characteristic example of the artist's detailed approach to portraiture.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a man with curly brown hair and a serious demeanor, dressed in a dark maroon jacket over a white shirt with an elaborate lace collar. His right hand holds a small, round pocket watch, distinguished by its dark face and metal casing. During the seventeenth century, such timepieces were luxury items, serving as a clear indicator of the sitter's affluence and social standing rather than merely a functional object.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt
Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt (20 October 1640 – 7 November 1691) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who had been a pupil of Gerard Dou and is known as one of Leiden's fijnschilders.
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