Portrait of Aert van der Goes

Van Heemskerck painted multiple portraits of Aert van der Goes, the prominent Haarlem jurist and civic official, in 1541. The existence of more than one portrait of the same sitter in the same year may reflect different versions made for different family members, or may indicate that one version was a studio replica of the primary work. This undated, locationless version joins the other 1541 van der Goes portraits in providing evidence of Van Heemskerck's portrait production method — which included the creation of multiple versions of sought-after likenesses as a commercial practice normal in the sixteenth-century Northern Netherlands. Aert van der Goes's prominence in Haarlem civic life made his portrait a meaningful object for those who wished to commemorate their connection to him.

The panel format and technique follow the standard Van Heemskerck portrait formula of the early 1540s. The sitter's face is modelled with the firm chiaroscuro of Van Heemskerck's mature post-Roman period, and the dark civic gown is rendered with controlled tonal variation. Comparison with the other 1541 van der Goes portraits would reveal the degree to which this version departs from or replicates the primary sitting.