Cornelis Cornelisz., called Cornelis van Haarlem (Haarlem 1562-1638)

The existence of these pictures has only come to light in recent years and they were unknown at the time of Pieter van Thiel's 1999 monograph on the artist. Beautifully preserved and still unlined, they correspond with a few other bust-length portrayals from the same time, such as the Apollo (New York, Frankel collection) and a Bust of a Woman (Luxembourg, Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art), both of which are also dated 1620 (see P.J.J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, Doornspijk, 1999, nos. 115 and 268, figs. 256 and 257). Despite the apparent likenesses achieved in these depictions, it seems probable that they were intended as idealised figure types rather than actual portraits. Van Thiel has more recently inspected these works and noted that: 'These beautiful heads are typical examples of the idealized heads Cornelis used to make at this time. As such they are amongst his best works' (written communication, 2004).