Ferdinand Bol

Ferdinand Bol , 1616-80, Dutch painter. He studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam, and his early work (e.g., Elizabeth Bas, Amsterdam) has sometimes been confused with that of his master. His style was modified after 1650 through contact with van der Helst. Thereafter he moved away from a preoccupation with psychological probing and developed lighter tonalities and elegant forms. He is noted mainly for his portraits, a large collection of which is in the Rijks Museum and the Hermitage.

Bol, Ferdinand (1616–80). Dutch painter and etcher, active mainly in Amsterdam. He was a pupil of Rembrandt in the mid-1630s and in his early work imitated his master's style so well as to create occasional difficulty in distinguishing between them. The portrait of Elizabeth Bas in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is the best-known instance; it was acknowledged as a Rembrandt until 1911, when it was attributed to Bol by Bredius, and although this opinion is still widely accepted, there has been renewed support for Rembrandt as the author (as well as some for Jacob Backer). As Bol's career prospered, both as a portraitist and a painter of historical subjects, his style moved away from that of Rembrandt, becoming blander and more elegant in the manner of van der Helst. In 1669 he married a wealthy widow and seems to have stopped painting. Kneller was Bol's most distinguished pupil.

Bol, Ferdinand (bapt. Dordrecht, 24 June 1616; bur. Amsterdam, 24 July 1680). Dutch painter and etcher, active mainly in Amsterdam. He was a pupil of Rembrandt in the mid-1630s and in his early work imitated his master's style so well as to create occasional difficulty in distinguishing between them. The portrait of Elizabeth Bas in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is the best-known instance; it was acknowledged as a Rembrandt until 1911, when it was attributed to Bol by Bredius, and although this opinion is still widely accepted, there has been renewed support for Rembrandt as the author (as well as some for Jacob Backer). As Bol's career prospered, both as a portraitist and a painter of historical subjects, his style moved away from that of Rembrandt, becoming blander and more elegant in the manner of van der Helst. In 1669 he married a wealthy widow and seems to have stopped painting. Kneller was Bol's most distinguished pupil.