Portrait of a gentleman, bust-length, in a white lace ruff and black jacket

Jan van Ravesteyn was among the leading portraitists in The Hague in the first half of the seventeenth century. A favourite of the city’s leading citizens and government functionaries from other cities temporarily stationed there, his works exhibit the strong influence of Michiel van Mierevelt, who may also have been his master. When compared with those of van Mierevelt, Ravesteyn’s portraits display a greater elegance in their approach. Despite living for another fifteen years, van Ravesteyn appears to have largely given up painting after 1641; since its last appearance on the market, cleaning has revealed the artist's signature and a date of 1641, making the present example a relatively late work.