 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of a Man 1648 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of a Woman 1655 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of a Man 1655 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of a Boy holding a Silver Goblet 1657 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of Gerard Andriesz Bicker ca. 1642 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of an Old Woman at a Window before 1670 oil on canvas Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of Jeanne Parmentier 1656 oil on canvas Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of Jacobus Trip ca. 1650-60 oil on canvas Amsterdam Museum |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of Jan Jacobsz Hinlopen and his wife Lucia Wijbrants 1666 oil on canvas private collection |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Portrait of Jochem van Aras with his Family 1654 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Regents of the Walloon Orphanage 1637 oil on canvas Amsterdam Museum |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Banquet of the Crossbowmen's Guild, Amsterdam 1648 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Militia Company of District VIII, Amsterdam (Captain Bicker's Company) 1639-43 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
"When Bartholomeus van der Helst moved to Amsterdam in 1636, Rembrandt van Rijn was at the height of his popularity. Within the decade, the Haarlem innkeeper's son would surpass Rembrandt as the most sought-after portraitist in the city, for tastes were changing and so was Rembrandt's style. As Rembrandt's work grew deeper and more personal, many patrons were demanding more elegant, less intense portraits. The dazzling elegance of the Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyck had reached Amsterdam. The city's military heroes and the wealthy members of the regent class loved the new style, and Van der Helst quickly adapted himself to their tastes. Patrons turned to Van der Helst, who firmly established his reputation in 1643, when his first large group portrait, Captain Bicker's Company [directly above] received rave reviews for its swagger, bright colors, virtuoso display of finery, and clearly delineated individuals. Van der Helst's colorful realism remained fashionable into the next century. When famed British portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds visited Amsterdam in 1781, he praised Captain Bicker's Company: "it is, perhaps, the first picture of portraits in the world, comprehending more of those qualities which make a perfect portrait than any other I have ever seen."
– biographical notes, Getty Museum, Los Angeles
 |
| Hendrik Jacobus Scholten Mary Henrietta, Princess of Orange visiting the Studio of Bartholomeus van der Helst in Amsterdam ca. 1850-70 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
 |
| Bartholomeus van der Helst Self Portrait with Portrait of Mary Henrietta, Princess of Orange ca. 1667-69 oil on canvas National Museum, Warsaw |