Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck

Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck (1600/03-1662) of Haarlem was probably apprenticed to his father, portraitist Cornelis Engelsz (Versprongh), and possibly also to Frans Hals, of the same city. Hals’s influence on his manner of painting is certainly evident in Verspronck’s work. In 1632, he joined Haarlem’s St Luke’s guild. Verspronck developed a sober, restrained style of portraiture. He lived for many years with his parents and remained a rather isolated figure in Haarlem’s art circles.

Apart from a single still life and various genre paintings, most of Verspronck’s works are portraits. He was particularly productive in the years 1640 to 1643, when he made two group portraits and over twenty individual portraits. In all, he painted around a hundred portraits.