Artwork
Bust of man wearing a large-brimmed hat
Bust of man wearing a large-brimmed hat is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem Drost. It dates from 1654 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a man turned three-quarters left, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a beard, rendered in three-quarter view bust format.
The painting depicts a man turned three-quarters left, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a beard, rendered in three-quarter view bust format. The hat’s broad brim and the subject’s facial hair are rendered with careful attention to light and texture, situating the work within the Dutch portrait tradition of the mid-seventeenth century.
Scholars identify the sitter as a private individual, not a historical or allegorical figure, consistent with Drost’s known output of contemporary portraiture during the 1650s.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1654 by Willem Drost, this portrait is an oil painting on canvas measuring 73.1 cm in height and 62 cm in width. The work depicts a male figure characterized by a beard and a prominent large-brimmed hat. Stylistically, the composition focuses on the bust of the subject, with specific attention given to the rendering of fur textures alongside the facial features and headwear.
The piece is classified as a portrait and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.
History & Provenance
The painting was created by Willem Drost in 1654, as indicated by the artist’s inscription and the date on the work. The canvas depicts a man wearing a large-brimmed hat, matching the portrait genre and dimensions recorded by the National Gallery of Ireland, where the painting is currently held. There is no documented record of a specific commission or early ownership history prior to its twentieth-century institutional presence.
The painting Bust of man wearing a large-brimmed hat by Willem Drost is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. The work, created in 1654, is an oil-on-canvas portrait measuring 73.1 cm in height and 62 cm in width. The provided sources do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers for the piece, nor do they list any details regarding its exhibition history.
Overview
Willem Drost, a Dutch painter active in the mid‑17th century, produced this oil portrait in 1654. Executed in the style of the Dutch Golden Age, the work presents a single figure in half‑length, rendered with the careful observation characteristic of the period’s portraiture. The painting is part of the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Willem Drost (baptized 19 April 1633 – buried 25 February 1659) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits.
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