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Please note that The Gift Fair is taking place from Fri 5 – Sun 7 Dec. Whilst the fair is on, there will be a few changes to our normal offer;

  • All visitors, including members who are not coming to the fair itself, are required to prebook tickets.
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  • Whilst the fair is on, our ground floor galleries, which includes our Naples, Northern European, Portraits and Miniatures, and The Women’s Library, as well as the Modern Masterpieces display, will be open for the fair only.
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Northern Europe

1450 – 1650

Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg

Artist: Barthel Bruyn I
On display
Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg View 1 images
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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.

Details

Artist
Barthel Bruyn I
Title
Portrait of Gerhard von Westerberg
Date
1524
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
62.3 x 52.4
Reference
CVCSC:0385.N
Collection
Northern European
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