Gortzius Geldorp

Dietrich Leonardt, Cologne;

His sale, Cologne, J.M. Heberle, 9 June 1873, lots 18, 19;

Albert (Leser) Lestoque (1890-1960), Bonn, Germany (until 1934) and Denver, Colorado, by 1934;

Thence by descent in the Lestoque family;

With Weiss Gallery, London, by 2002;

From whom acquired by the present collector, April 2003.

Exhibition of 16th and 17th Century Paintings, exhibition catalogue, 1943, n.p., reproduced;

The Courtly Image: A Catalogue of Early Portraiture 1550-1680, exhibition catalogue, London 2002, n.p., cat. no. 9, reproduced.

Denver Art Museum, Chappell House annex, 4 November - 28 November 1943;

Denver, City and County Building, long-term loan, 1943 - circa 1960.

Dated 1598, this exceptional pair of family portraits depicts Bernhard Sigismund zum Pütz (1558-1628) and his wife Catharina Broelmann (1559-1627) alongside their three sons and four daughters. Celebrated for his ability to capture the likenesses of his subjects, Geldorp renders this elegant couple and their children with particular physiognomic sensitivity. In equal measure, their costumes and jewelry–encorporating intricate lace, luminous fabrics, precious stones, and meticulous goldwork–are described by the artist with an astonishing degree of refinement.

Bernhard Sigismund zum Pütz (1558-1628) was the son of Segerus von und zum Pütz who served as Mayor of Düren, a town then under the domain of the Dukes of Jülich, Cleves, and Berg. While his elder brother, Johan, succeeded their father as Mayor, the ambitious Bernhard moved to Cologne where he married Catharina Broelmann (1559-1627) and greatly expanded the family’s wealth and influence. A member of the Holy Roman Empire’s administrative elite, Bernhard was ennobled in 1614 and elected Vizekanzler (“vice chancellor”) of Jülich and Berg in 1616. By the time of his death in 1628, his honors and titles also included Knight of the Golden Fleece, Counsellor of Spain, Burgundy, the Electorates of Trier and Pfalz-Neuburg, and Counsel to the distinct of the Lower-Rhine and Westphalia.

By the time these portraits were executed in 1598, Bernhard must have already attained considerable power within Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Indeed, Bernhard and Catharina each wear gold medallions depicting prominent figures from the Duchy: William V (1516-1592), former Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and his son and successor, Johann Wilhelm (1555-1609), Bishop of Münster.