Willem de Poorter was apparently born in Haarlem, where he worked. He may have been a pupil of Rembrandt in Leiden or in Amsterdam. He was a painter of small-scale figure scenes.
Willem de Poorter
1608 - after 1648
Paintings by Willem de Poorter
This isn’t a portrait – it is an allegory, an attempt to represent an idea or ideal. Interpreting the symbolism, however, is difficult. We see a young man, upright and slightly aloof as he turns his head to look us directly in the eye.The figure may be based on a book of iconology by Cesare Ripa...
Not on display