Cornelis Ketel, 1548 – 1616, Umkreis des

PORTRAIT OF A CARTOGRAPHER Oil on oak, lined with chipboard. 81 x 64.5 cm. Inscription "Aetatis suae 31 / 1602" upper left. In ebonized wooden frame. Hip portrait of a man turned slightly to the right with millstone collar and black robe. In front of him a tablecloth on which lie a half-rolled map and a compass on which one hand rests, while the other holds a key. Remark: Arithmetically, the person depicted could be Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), although only printed portraits of him from later in his life have survived. After discovering the variable star P Cygni in 1600, he moved to Amsterdam around 1603 - if our theory is correct, as early as 1602. Cornelis Ketel was also working in Amsterdam at this time and probably created this painting with its subtle psychology. Literature: See Johannes Keuning, Marijke Donkersloot-de Vrij, Willem Jansz. Blaeu: a biography and history of his work as cartographer and publisher, Amsterdam 1973. (1400182) (13)