by Jim van der Meer Mohr

In a recent article in Oud Holland, C. Wansink published works by Hieronymus van der Mij.[1] The discussion of these paintings shows how often Van der Mij's style has been confused with that of his teacher Willem van Mieris. It is difficult to identify the author of many works, not only by Van der Mij but also by other pupils and followers of Van Mieris, and in many cases traditional attributions have to be corrected. This also applies to a painting which was recently submitted to me for examination, and on which only the date is legible: 1740. In my opinion the work can definitely be attributed to Gerard Wigmana (fig. 1).[2]

1. Here identified as by Gerard Wigmana, Scholar in his Study, dated 1740. Panel, 42 x 32 cm. Netherlands, private collection

There is little information on this master, who is known mainly for his history paintings, five of which belong to Dutch museums.[3] Theodoor von Frimmel devoted a study to him in the early years of this century,[4] and it was not until 1969 that another article appeared. The author, B. van Haersma Buma, presented numerous new data, mostly of a biographical nature.[5] Gerard Wigmana was born in the Frisian town of Workum on 17 September 1673; he served as apprentice to Joachim Burmeister and Jelle Sybrandi, and presumably also to Willem van Mieris, although no conclusive evidence of the latter has yet been found.[6] Around 1700 he was living in Rome, where he was nicknamed the "Frisian Raphael," "because he always busied himself speaking of Raphael, Titian, Giulio Romano and other Italian heroes of art, and imagined himself to be already far advanced in their great manner of drawing; for whenever he showed any of his pictures he would say: this is how Raphael drew, or how Raphael painted."[7] After his sojourn in Italy he lived in Amsterdam, where he married Petronella Maria van der Lely on 9 July 1707. His paintings did not sell well in his own lifetime, partly because the prices he charged were far too high. The lack of buyers actually induced him to travel to London in the hope of selling his work there. In 1738 he is listed as a member of the Utrecht painters' guild. He died on 27 May 1741 in Amsterdam. His work clearly reveals the influence of Willem van Mieris. In addition to his history paintings, a small number of genre pieces and portraits are known.

The painting that concerns us here, which was auctioned in Amsterdam in 1948 as a Willem van Mieris,[8] displays all the characteristics of Wigmana: the meticulous rendering of the figures and their surroundings, the satiny glow of the painting as a whole, and what has recently been aptly described as "vermicelli-like" folds of the costumes and draperies.[9] The date 1740 indicates that the picture was painted just before the artist's death. It shows a scholar engrossed in thought, sitting before the fireplace in his study, his head and right arm leaning on the arm of the chair. In his left hand he holds a book, a pile of books lies on the table next to him; a maidservant behind him draws the curtain aside as if to tell him something.