This innovative composition was designed to enhance the stature of both artist and sitter. The artist, recently returned to Venice from Bergamo, hoped to challenge Titian’s dominance in the field of portraiture. The sitter was a wealthy collector from the merchant class, here surrounded by some objects presumed to be from his own collection. His dynamic pose and intense eye contact invite the viewer into the conversation, firmly establishing portraiture as an interactive genre.

Presented to Charles II in 1660 by the States of Holland and West Friesland upon his restoration to the throne