Pieter Cornelisz. van SLINGELANDT Paintings

Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt (1640–1691) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his highly detailed genre paintings and portraits, which reflected the wealthy bourgeois lifestyle of his time. Born in Leiden, he was a pupil of Gerard Dou, one of the most celebrated Dutch genre painters and a master of the fijnschilder technique—a style characterized by intricate detail and smooth finish. Van Slingelandt adopted this meticulous approach, which became the hallmark of his work.

Van Slingelandt's early works were strongly influenced by his teacher, but he gradually developed his own style while maintaining the high level of detail that defined the fijnschilders. He often depicted domestic scenes with a sense of intimacy and warmth, bringing to life the textures of fabrics, reflective surfaces, and varied materials with astonishing realism. His portraits, while less numerous than his genre scenes, demonstrate a similar attention to detail and a keen eye for capturing the personalities of his sitters.

Despite his relatively short life, van Slingelandt's works were in high demand during his lifetime, and he enjoyed the patronage of wealthy collectors. His paintings are now held in numerous museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris. Van Slingelandt's legacy lives on as an exemplar of the Leiden school of fijnschilders, and his works continue to be appreciated for their technical virtuosity and their charming portrayal of 17th-century Dutch life.