A New Light upon Hendrik van Deventer (1651–1724): Identification and Recovery of a Portrait

Abstract

Early in 1996, both the artist and the patron of a beautifully\npainted portrait by an anonymous painter of the late\nseventeenth century were identified. The painting (Figure\n1) was compared with works by other portraitists, and a\nthorough stylistic analysis by the Netherlands Institute for\nArt History finally showed that the portrait displays all the\ncharacteristics of a painting by Thomas van der Wilt (1659-\n1733)1. In the autumn of that year the painting was restored\nand the signature and the date (1700) were recovered. This\nproved that the maker of the portrait was indeed Thomas\nvan der Wilt.