Barthel Bruyn I 1493-1555
Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg

Details
Artist
Barthel Bruyn I 1493-1555
Title
Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg
Date
1524
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
62.3 x 52.4
Reference
CVCSC:0385.N
Collection
Status
On Display
Barthel or Bartholomäus Bruyn was the leading portrait painter in the Electorate of Cologne during the Early Reformation and founded a lasting school of portraiture. This is one of Bruyn’s most important pictures, but the sitter has only been correctly identified in recent years. The key to his identity is provided by the signet ring displayed prominently on his right forefinger, which bears the crest of the Westerburg family of Cologne. Gerhard von Westerburg (1486-c.1539) was a leading Cologne lawyer and a keen supporter of the Reformation. He appears to have commissioned this portrait to commemorate his marriage of 1523 to Gertraude von Leutz. A portrait of his wife by Bruyn survives in the Kröller-Müller Museum, in Otterloo.
Barthel Bruyn I Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg 1524 © Compton Verney