Pieter Cornelisz. Verbeeck (Haarlem 1598/1602-1652/4)

Born in Haarlem, Verbeeck became a member of the Alkmaar painters guild in 1635 and spent several years in Utrecht before returning to his native city. This meticulously rendered and well-preserved painting reflects the influence of artists like the Utrecht-born Dirk Stoop and the Haarlemer Pieter van Laer, each of whom specialized in the depiction of idealized horses in landscape settings and whose works Verbeeck no doubt encountered in the early years of his career. Peter Sutton has suggested that the painting dates to the 1640s, around the time Verbeeck settled permanently in Haarlem (loc. cit.).