Portrait of Constantijn Huygens

Unknown artist

Constantijn Huygens (1596–1687) was secretary to Stadtholder Frederick Henry and a notable connoisseur. In his autobiography, he described how this painting was executed. Lievens painted the portrait in two stages, first the clothing and the hands, and then the face. This explains why the scale is a bit off: the head is too small in relation to the body.