Portrait of Thomas Bulwer

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

1654

Gerard van Soest (Dutch, c. 1600–1681)

Like many Dutch artists working in late 17th-century England, Gerard Soest catered to members of the upper social classes and aristocracy. The subject of this portrait, Norfolk gentleman Thomas Bulwer, likely hired Soest because of the painter’s ability to convey a sitter’s authority with directness and simplicity. Here, Soest depicted Bulwer clutching a scroll to signal his intellectual interests and influence. Likewise, the subject’s hand poised on the chair’s armrest suggests that he is about to rise, an indication of his active nature. The inscription and date, which were uncovered during cleaning, were added in the 18th century.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Gerard van Soest
Title: Portrait of Thomas Bulwer
Place: Holland (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1654
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Inscribed top center: Thomas Bulwer: 1654
Dimensions: 101.7 × 86.7 cm (40 1/16 × 34 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Alexander A. McKay Fund
Reference Number: 1962.963
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/15714/manifest.json

Frederick Duleep Singh, Portraits in Norfolk Houses, Edmund Ferrer, ed., vol. 2 (Norwich, England, 1928), pp. 239–40.
John Maxon, “Three Baroque Portraits,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 57, 1 (1963), pp. 4, 5, ill.
T. L., review of John Maxon, “Three baroque portraits,” in Emporium 138, 2 (1964), p. 96.
“Accessions of American and Canadian Museums,” Art Quarterly 26, 2 (1963), p. 253, ill.
John Maxon, The Art Institute of Chicago (New York, 1970), pp. 260, 287, ill.; revised edition (London, 1977); reprinted (London, 1987).
Ilse Hecht, “Portrait of Thomas Bulwer,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 71, 5 (1977), pp. 2–5, fig. 1, cover ill.
Richard R. Brettell and Steven Starling, The Art of the Edge: European Frames 1300–1900, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1986), p. 105, under no. 60.
M. Therese Southgate, “Portrait of Thomas Bulwer,” Journal of the American Medical Association 295, 6 (2006), p. 595, cover ill.

Worcester, England, City Art Gallery, Exhibition of Paintings from 1642 to 1651, 1951, cat. 43.
Art Institute of Chicago, European Portraits 1600–1900 in the Art Institute of Chicago, July 8–September 11, 1978, cat. 5.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Art of the Edge: European Frames 1300–1900, October 19–December 14, 1986, with no. 60.

Rippon Hall, Hevingham, Norwich, by 1910 [according to Singh 1923, who visited Rippon Hall on July 29, 1910]. Lever Galleries, London, by 1937 [according to a letter from Leggatt Brothers to Ilse Hecht dated October 3, 1977, in curatorial file]; sold to Leggatt Brothers, London, 1937 [according to the letter cited above]; sold to Reginald H. Leon, The White House, Denham, Buckinghamshire, 1937 as Portrait of John Bulwer [date according to the letter cited above; title according to a letter from Leggatt Brothers to Ilse Hecht dated October 25, 1977, in curatorial file]; his sale, Knight, Frank & Rutley, The White House, Denham, Buckinghamshire, May 9, 1961, lot 49 as Portrait of John Bulwer for £260 to Agnew & Sons [price and buyer according to annotated photocopy of the sale catalogue, in curatorial file]; Agnew Brothers, London; sold to the Art Institute, 1962.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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