Jan Jansz. Westerbaen I (The Hague, 1600 – 1686), Dancing Scene – The Garter

Jan Jansz. Westerbaen I (The Hague, 1600 – 1686) Dancing Scene – The Garter Oil on oak panel, 120 x 75 cm Monogrammed and dated lower right: year 1639 J.W. (or I.W.) Provenance: Spirlet collection, Liège before 1928 (as Antoine Palamedesz); Jules and Jean Lalière collection, Namur; Brussels, Vanderkindere, 16 October 2018, no. 143. Jan Jansz. Westerbaen I (ca. 1600-1686) emerges from historical documentation as a figure well-rooted in the social and artistic fabric of The Hague in the 17th century. He was not only a prolific painter, but also an active and influential member of the institutions that regulated art in the city, attesting to a commitment that went far beyond mere artistic production. Born to Jan Jacobsz Westerbaen, a rope maker, Jan Jansz. Westerbaen I came from a family that already included several prominent figures in the cultural landscape of his time. He was the younger brother of Jacob Westerbaen, a noted author, and his family further intertwined with the world of art through the marriage of his sister Anneke to the painter Salomon de Bray in 1625. These family ties not only suggest a culturally stimulating environment, but also a network of contacts that may have favored his career. In 1630, Jan married the widow Maria Bartelmeesdr Suijster in The Hague, and from this union Jan Jansz. Westerbaen II was born, who would follow in his father's footsteps and also become a painter. Westerbaen's artistic training began early: in 1619 he is documented as an apprentice to Evert van der Maes. Five years later, in 1624, he fully entered the Guild of Saint Luke, the corporate organization that regulated the profession of painters. His participation in the life of the guild was anything but passive; in fact, he repeatedly held the role of warden in the steering committee, with mandates in the years 1642-1643, 1644-1645 and 1650-1651. A crucial moment in his institutional career was the co-founding of the Confrerie Pictura in 1656. This confraternity was created during a period of tensions and reforms within the Dutch guilds: its aim was to elevate the status of artists and provide them with greater protection. Westerbaen continued to hold supervisory roles within the Confrerie Pictura, serving in 1659-60, 1660-61, 1663-64 and 1664-65. The last mention of Westerbaen in the documents dates back to 1674, in connection with a case involving Pieter van der Hulst, suggesting his continued activity or influence even in old age. The work depicts one of the most salient moments of a dancing party attended by members of the aristocracy and the powerful Flemish merchant class, richly dressed and devoted to the pleasures of life. At the center of the composition, a couple in the foreground captures the attention of the observer: a kneeling man, dressed in a green and gold suit, who seems to be tying the garter of a seated woman, also splendidly dressed in a dark green dress with white inserts and a wide collar. On the left, a man with a feathered hat and a sumptuous gold and white dress stands tall, with an expression of composure or attention to the event, flanked by a woman dressed in an elegant dark red silk brocade dress with white trim. Further to the left, other figures can be glimpsed, including one playing a musical instrument similar to a lute or viola da gamba. Most of the figures wear large white collars, often ornate, and different hats, depending on gender and social position. The scene, both iconographically and from a technical-executive point of view, takes up the key dictates of the works of Westerbaen's ideal master, Antoine Palamedesz, known as Stevers (Leith, 1602 – Amsterdam, 1673), a painter known for his interior scenes and his gallant parties full of characters rendered through the lenticularism typical of Flemish art. In fact, some characters are taken almost literally from Palamedesz's works in our painting. Westerbaen is usually a painter of half-length portraits: among his best-known paintings are two Female Portraits, one currently at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum and the other at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Portrait of Arnoldus Geesteranus (1593-1658), among the masterpieces of the Mauritshuis in The Hague; it is also for this reason that our painting is an absolute rarity. It is in fact one of only two choral paintings executed by the Flemish painter: the other, which shares iconography, setting and execution technique with the one in question, published as Family Scene on the RKD, is currently part of a private collection. The attribution to Westerbaen is also confirmed by the monogram I.W. affixed in the lower left section of the panel: observing the portraits of the artist originally from The Hague, it can be noted that he usually used these methods to sign his name.