Self-Portrait

The 49-year-old Troost portrays himself here as a serious and confident painter. He is at his easel in his studio, holding his palette, brushes and painter’s stick.

Troost, who worked in Amsterdam, had been an actor for a couple of years before becoming a painter. He painted many scenes from farcical plays, but was also a master of the more serious genre. He shows this in the painting on the easel, which is probably a scene from a play by the Dutch poet Vondel.