Pieter Soutman (Haarlem, c. 1593 - Haarlem, 16 August 1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who worked in his native Haarlem, where he was a contemporary of Frans Hals. He came from a wealthy Catholic family that owned a Haarlem brewery. According to Houbraken, he trained with Rubens in Antwerp. Around 1624 Rubens recommended him as an excellent painter, and that same year Soutman went to Poland, where he served as court painter to King Sigismund III Vasa until 1628, when he returned to Haarlem.
From his Polish period survive portraits dated 1626, including one of Sigismund III in coronation robes and another of Prince Władysław Vasa on horseback. Back in Haarlem he became a respected portraitist, winning commissions for group portraits and schutterstukken, the civic guard pieces, such as the one from 1642. For centuries some of his portraits were attributed to Frans Hals, and one of them was sold to the Louvre in the 1860s under that name.
His pupils included Cornelis Visscher, Jacob Louys and Pieter van Sompel. His works are held in several museums, as well as in the Huis ten Bosch in The Hague.
Works (2)
Equestrian portrait of Władysław IV Vasa, heir to the Polish throne, painted in 1626 by Pieter Soutman. The prince is shown on horseback, a pose that emphasises his aristocratic rank and military role. The painting is held at Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków. Without further sources, the commission and the specific circumstances of its making cannot be stated with certainty.
Full-length portrait of Crown Prince Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa dressed in Polish costume, painted by Pieter Soutman in 1626. It belongs to the formal portrait genre and is held at the Palace Museum in Wilanów. The record offers no further information about its commission or reception, so this description is limited to the sitter, the date and the oil-on-canvas technique.
Where to see the work
- Wawel Royal Castle – State Art Collection Kraków · 1
- Palace Museum in Wilanów Warsaw · 1