Portrait of Adam Wachendorff, with a Putto Blowing Bubbles

Cornelis Ketel, 1574

The sitter, Adam Wachendorff, can be identified from the family coat of arms on his watch case. He was the secretary of the London offices of the Hanseatic League, a trading alliance of European cities. The Greek inscription on the original frame (‘Man is a soap bubble’) and the naked youth blowing bubbles on the reverse allude to the transience of human life.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4046
  • Dimensionsheight 50.3 cm x diameter 48.6 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

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Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Portrait of Adam Wachendorff, with a Putto Blowing Bubbles
    • Portrait of a Man. On the Verso a Putto Blowing Bubbles

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4046

  • Description

    Portret van een man. Op de keerzijde een bellenblazende putto. De man, waarschijnlijk Adam Wachendorff, is tot aan de heupen voorgesteld, staand bij een tafeltje. In de rechterhand een brief, de linkerhand in de zij. Op tafel liggen papier, een pen, een inktpot en een horloge. Op de keerzijde een naakte bellenblazende putto in een landschap.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • inscription: ‘[Grieks]’
    • signature, date and inscription: ‘CK Anº DNI 1574. AEtatis Suae 35’
    • inscription: ‘Sermo Dei AEternus Caetera Omnia Caduca’

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Cornelis Ketel, London

  • Dating

    1574

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    height 50.3 cm x diameter 48.6 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland

  • Acquisition

    bequest 1961

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    Inv.; from Dr. A. Lapp, Frankfürt,fl.6,300, to Isaäc de Bruijn (1872-1953), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, 1927;{Note RMA.} donated to the museum by Isaäc de Bruijn and his wife, Johanna Geertruida de Bruijn-van der Leeuw (1877-1960), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, 1949, but kept in usufruct;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1961

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

  • A. Wallert, B. Schoonhoven, E. Metz, 'Becoming a Virtuoso Painter: Cornelis Ketel's Portrait of Adam Wachendorff and Homo Bulla', in: Making Art in Tudor Britain, Abstracts from Academic Workshops (2007-2008), internetpublicatie op: http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/making-art-in-tudor-britain/workshops/workshop-3-abstract-11.php

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