Lot 37: Jan Daemen Cool , Rotterdam 1589 - 1660 A portrait of a gentleman and his wife seated at a table with their two young children, all full length, in an interior with a marine painting on the wall in the background oil on panel

dated lower left: A o 1633 oil on panel

measurements note 89 by 139.3 cm.

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 24 November 1961, lot 60 (as by Thomas de Keyser, depicting Jan van Goyen and his family).

PROPERTY FROM A GERMAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Jan Daemen Cool was born in Rotterdam around 1589 and may have trained in the workshop of Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt (1567-1641) in Delft. In 1614 Cool registered in the painter's Guild in that city, although he probably returned to Rotterdam in the same year. The rest of his life he spent in his native town, working as a portraitist for the city's elite and governing institutions.

Between 1631 and 1637 Cool produced a group of four family portraits of which the present work is a latest addition. These group portraits were formerly considered to be by Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594-1652), but have recently been convincingly attributed to Jan Daemen Cool by Ekkart.υ1 A relationship in style between these two masters is evident, but Cool's work is characterised by a tighter and more matter-of-fact style which is in line with the portrait production in Delft and The Hague by artists such as Michiel van Mierevelt and Jan Anthonisz van Ravesteyn. Characteristic for Cool is the attention to hands and gestures, which give his portraits a livelier feel than those of Cuyp. This is Cool's only known group portrait set in an interior, for his other group portaits are all situated in landscape settings.

Another characteristic of Cool is that he never signed his work, but nearly all his works are marked with date inscriptions. Consistent here with other works is the way in which this portrait is dated. Typical for Cool is the Aυo of which the right leg of the A ends with an elegant cross-line.

Traditionally the family was identified as "Jan van Goyen and his family", probably because of the prominent position of the tonal marine painting. However, given the fact that Cool's clientele almost entirely consisted of Rotterdam patrons, this family must have been based in Rotterdam or surroundings as well. Therefore it is unlikely that Van Goyen, who first lived in Leiden and by 1633 in The Hague ever sat for Jan Daemen Cool. We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for suggesting the attribution to Jan Daemen Cool and to Prof. Dr. R.E.O. Ekkart for confirming this attribution on the basis of first hand inspection.

1. See R.E.O. Ekkart, 'De Rotterdamse portrettist Jan Daemen Cool (ca. 1589-1660)', in Oud Holland, 111, 1997, no. 4, pp. 201-40.