annotated 'Anno/1645' (upper right); the coat of arms (upper left); with annotation 'Jacob van Halmael' (written on the reverse)

oil on panel, 69x56 cm

Provenance:
-With Kunsthandel J.E. Goedhart, 1903. -Private collection, the Netherlands.

Jan van Halmael was a Dutch cloth merchant in Amsterdam. The few records that exist of him do not testify to having a military career. The presence of the armour he is wearing cannot be explained in that respect. The date annotated upper right does not correspond to the period of life dates of the presumed sitter.