Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck

Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck (1600 - Jun 30, 1662) was a Dutch Golden Age portraitist. He painted mainly portraits. Paintings of Verspronck can be found in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem and the Twenthe Rijksmuseum in Enschede

Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck was born between 1600 and 1603 in Haarlem. He was the oldest son of the portrait painter Cornelis Engelsz. Verspronck from Gouda and Maritge Jansdr. Rodenrijsen.

In 1632 he joined the Saint Lucas painter's guild and worked his entire life as a portrait painter of his (Catholic) citymates. He may have been a Frans Hals pupil, and was strongly influenced by him, especially in his natural expressions and relaxed poses. He is best known for his exactness in painting details such as jewelry and lace, which made him quite popular with female sitters.

Most notably, he won a lucrative commission in 1642 for a group portrait of the regentesses of the Heilige Geesthuis, at the time one of the wealthiest charity institutions in Haarlem, situated on the Krocht. This was won at the expense of Frans Hals himself, who had painted the regents of the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis in 1641 and fully expected to win the commission for the women.Twenty years later Verspronck even painted the regentesses of the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis.

According to Houbraken, he was called "Gerard Sprong", and was the son of the painter Cornelis Engelsz who made many schuttersstukken that could be seen in the Doelen (he meant the buildings in Haarlem that were used for target practise, and where today the central library and proveniershuis are located.

Verspronck died in 1662 in Haarlem. He was buried on 30 June 1662.

Works:
More than 100 paintings by Verspronck are known. His most important works are next to the portrait of a girl in blue, the two group portraits of the rainbow stables of the St Elizabeth Guest House. Together with a group portrait of the regents of the St Elizabeth Guest House of Frans Hals, these paintings hang in the French Hals Museum.

Portrait of a Young Man, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, 1634
Andries Stilte as a Standard Bearer (1640)

Portrait of Pieter Jacobsz. Schout (1641)
Portrait of the Regentesses of the St.. Elisabeth gasthuis", Frans Hals Museum, 1662
Portrait of the Regentesses of the Heilige Geesthuis, Frans Hals Museum, 1642
Portrait of Maria Strijp, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 1652
Portrait of gentelman, National Museum of Decorative Arts, Buenos Aires, 1651

Girl in a Blue Dress (1641) September 1945 decorated the banknotes of the 25 guilders' certificate. Of this banknote about 39 million were circulated until 1953 new notes were issued.

His portrait of the Amsterdam merchant Jean le Gouche (1634) was seen in the collection of Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler and the Frans Hals Museum.

The portrait was auctioned and moved to the collection of Jacques Goudstikker; Today the whereabouts are unknown.

In 1945, the portrait of a young woman in Berlin burned. This painting originally came from the Adolph Thiem collection.
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