MICHIEL VAN MUSSCHER | PORTRAIT OF A GENTLEMAN, THREE-QUARTER-LENGTH, IN A JAPANESE ROBE, STANDING BEFORE A GARDEN, A STATUE OF MERCURY BEYOND

Born in Rotterdam, Michiel van Musscher received an eclectic training – initially with the obscure history painter Martin Saagmolen in 1660; then with the Leiden history and portrait painter Abraham van den Tempel from 1661; next with Gabriel Metsu, whose work was to have a profound influence, in 1665; and finally in Haarlem under Adriaen van Ostade in 1667. By 1668 he had settled in Amsterdam, where he developed a successful practice as a portrait painter, portraying his sitters in landscape settings, as here, or in opulent interiors.

When this painting was offered in 1928 the portrait bore a beard and a moustache; by the time it was sold again in 1935, these features had been removed. We are grateful to Dr. Robert Gerhardt for his help in the cataloguing of this lot.