Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot

The actual painting is slightly warmer in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests.The canvas has a rather firm relining, which has somewhat flattened the paint surface. The brushwork in the figure's collar and face, and in the feathers of his hat, has been nicely preserved. A small dent is visible centre right. A small spot of paint loss, which has been retouched, is visible upper centre, as well as some smaller ones in the background lower right. The paint surface is slightly abraded in the background. Tiny scattered discoloured retouchings can be observed in the figure's costume lower centre, in his hand, in his hat, and in the background upper centre and upper right. The paint surface is covered with a dirty and discoloured layer of varnish. Inspection under ultra violet light is largely impeded by the dirty varnish layer, but there are probably some additional spots of retouching in the figure's arm and in the knots of his costume. Offered in a wood frame with plaster gilt ornamentations, with chunks missing in the upper right and lower left corner. (MW)
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Although Arnold Houbraken thought that Joost Cornelis Droochsloot was a native of Dordrecht,¹ this Utrecht master was first recorded in the registers of the Utrecht Saint Luke guild in 1616, together with Hendrick Terbruggen. In 1623 and 1641 he became the dean of the guild, although he never shared the fame of other Utrecht masters as Terbruggen, Honthorst and Bloemaert.
Primarily known for his very typical street and winter scenes (see lot 63 in this sale), he very rarely made self portraits. Only two others are known: one in the Musée des Ursulines, Macon, oil on panel, 64.5 by 48.5 cm. (see fig. 2), dated 1630 (inv. no. A701), and one in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, oil on panel, 37.5 by 50.5 cm., dated 1627 (see fig. 1). These works, both signed, are on panel and much smaller. In the present work Droochsloot chose to portray himself half length with a gorget in the more conventional self portrait manner as his contemporaries did. In the first other self portrait he reveals his profession by situating himself before an easel with one of his distinct works and the second shows him in the countryside using a pipe and a glass of wine. As these two paintings have a somewhat identical pose of the sitter and it indistinctly relates to the present half length portrait, one is led to believe the portrait may originate from the late 1620s, early 1630s.

1. A. Houbraken, Groote Schouburgh der Nederlantsche Konstschilders en schilderessen, Amsterdam 1721, vol. III, p. 226.