Portrait of a Man with en Empty Wineglass

From the 1640s, van der Helst, thanks to his stylish manner, was the leading portraitist in Amsterdam. Here the sitter is depicted in an unusually casual seated position, holding an empty wine glass. Although he is dressed in modest Calvinist black, his demeanour exhibits a freedom inspired by group portraits featuring banqueting corporations and by cavaliers of merry companies. Further appeal lies in the unconventional conception, that he is captured sitting outdoors in front of a cloudy sky, behind an illusionistic painted frame; his left hand rests on the frame, breaching the boundary between sitter and beholder.