Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – 1670)

• Was a Dutch painter. 
• Bartholomeus van der Helst was born in Haarlem in 1613.
• Van der Helst had moved to Amsterdam some time before 1636.
• He married Anna du Pire, an 18-year-old woman from a prosperous family of the Southern Netherlands. 
• The couple had six children of whom one, called Lodewijk, became a portrait painter like his father.
• The artist remained active throughout his life and maintained a high level of production until the end of his career.
• He was the teacher of his son Lodewijk who followed his style. 

• Marcus Waltes was his pupil in 1650.   

• He had bought a large house and acquired many paintings of leading artists such as Frans Floris, Simon de Vos, Goltzius, Adriaen Brouwer, Pieter Lastman, Gerard van Zyl, Simon de Vlieger, Hendrik Gerritsz Pot, Otto Marcelis, and Willem van de Velde.

• After his death his wife was compelled to offer his works and those from his art collection for sale in 1671 in an advertisement in the Haarlems Dagblad.

• The displayed painting is a crop from: Bartholomeus van der Helst, Self-portrait, ca. 1667.

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