Figure 1.--Nothing is known about the sitter nor the painter here. We believe that this paiting dates to 1615. The boy in the painting is wearing a dark brown jerkin closed with a row of buttons in front. It has yokes/pauldrons and long sleeves with linen cuffs that are trimmed with lace. The same lace is used for trimming the elaborate turned-up linen collar. The boy with "colfstok" may be of some added interest to English and American readers as the medieval Dutch game of colf is said to be the forerunner of present-day golf.

Nothing is known about the sitter nor the painter here. The portrait is dated 1615. The boy in the painting is wearing a dark brown jerkin closed with a row of buttons in front. It has yokes/pauldrons and long sleeves with linen cuffs that are trimmed with lace. The same lace is used for trimming the elaborate turned-up linen collar. The boy wear a richly finished golden belt. His knee-breeches are of the same brown colour; the side seam is embellished with a row of golden buttons. He wears tight fitting stockings of reddish brown, and black shoes with a golden rosette on the insteps. His left hand is holding a black hat with a broad rim and yet another golden rosette. The boy with "colfstok" may be of some added interest to English and American readers as the medieval Dutch game of colf is said to be the forerunner of present-day golf. Information about this painting has been submitted by a Dutch reader in both Dutch and English.

Artist and Subject

Nothing is known about the boy’s identity nor do we know by whom and were the painting has been done.

Over de identiteit van de jongen is niets bekend, evenmin weten we door wie en waar dit portret is geschilderd .

Chronology

The portrait is dated 1615.

Het portret is gedateerd 1615.

Clothing

The boy in the painting is wearing a dark brown jerkin closed with a row of buttons in front. It has yokes/pauldrons and long sleeves with linen cuffs that are trimmed with lace. The same lace is used for trimming the elaborate turned-up linen collar. The boy wear a richly finished golden belt. His knee-breeches are of the same brown colour; the side seam is embellished with a row of golden buttons. He wears tight fitting stockings of reddish brown, and black shoes with a golden rosette on the insteps. His left hand is holding a black hat with a broad rim and yet another golden rosette.

De jongen draagt een donkerbruin wambuis dat middenvoor sluit met knopen en knoopsgaten. Het is voorzien van schouderstukken en heeft lange mouwen met manchetten van linnen die zijn afgezet met kant. De opstaande linnen kraag is eveneens van kant voorzien. Om het middel draagt hij een rijk bewerkte goudkleurige gordel. De jongen draagt een kuitbroek van dezelfde bruine kleur, die aan de zijnaad voorzien is van een rij goudkleurige knopen. De roodbruine kousen sluiten nauw aan. Hij draagt zwarte schoenen met een goudkleurige rozet op de wreef. Hij houdt een breedgerande zwarte hoed in zijn linker hand, deze is voorzien van een goudkleurige rozet.

There are some problems with the Dutch translation. Our Dutch reader write, "I am not sure how to translate "wambuis". My Dutch/English dictionary says jerkin, but in my 'Oxford' this is described as a sleeveless jacket, quod non. Another difficult word is "schouderstukken", literaly shoulder pieces, meaning the triangular pieces of cloth covering the seams between the jacket and the sleeves. My D/E dictionary says yoke or pauldron, yet the Oxford describes yokes as being made of wood and has no entry at all for 'pauldron'." The reference to yokes/pauldrons is probably the striped shoulder element, a kind of epaulet. I am not sure, however, as to the correct term.

Golf

‘Colf’, similar to the English game of pall mall, has been played in the Netherlands at least from the late Middle Ages. It was a precursor of today’s golf. ‘Colven’ was done with a wooden club the head of wich was covered with lead. The ball was made of leather and filled with hair. It was to be struck toward the goal with as few strokes as possible. The history of the game is well documented in archives that mention the production of colf-balls and clubs and the construction of courses in a number of Dutch cities. The game has been represented on drawings and paintings from the 16th century onward.

Het colfspel werd reeds in de late Middeleeuwen in Nederland beoefend. Het is een vroege voorloper van het huidige golfspel. Colven gebeurde met een houten stok die voorzien was van een loden kop. De bal was van leer en was met haar gevuld. Hij moest in zo min mogelijk beurten over een grote afstand naar het doel worden geslagen. De geschiedenis van het colven blijkt uit talrijke archiefstukken die melding maken van het vervaardigen van colfstokken en ballen en van de aanleg van colfbanen. Het spel wordt bovendien afgebeeld op tekeningen en schilderijen vanaf de zestiende eeuw.

Golf Paintings

The earliest known portrait with a colf-club is known only from a copy made in 1845. The original was painted in 1587 and represented Hugo de Groot at age four. Allthough ‘colven’ was an adults’game, only boys sat for a portrait with a colf-stick as an attribute.

Het vroegste bekende portret met een kolfstok is uit 1587 en stelt de vierjarige Hugo de Groot voor. Het originele schilderij is verloren gegaan, slechts een copie uit 1845 is bewaard gebleven. Merkwaardig is dat, ofschool het spel hoofdzakelijk door volwassenen beoefend werd , uitsluitend kinderen met een colfstok als attribuut geportretteerd werden.

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Created: September 8, 2003
Last updated: September 8, 2003