Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts (1573-1638)
The painting of him was done in oil on a mahogany panel, and measures 46 x 34 in (116.8 x 87.3 cm). In it, Ruts is depicted in a sable lined tabbaard (Dutch gown), translucent neck ruff, and Russian ushanka hat, holding an illegible note in his left hand and looking directly at the viewer, his right resting on the back of a red chair.
Nicolaes Ruts (1573-1638)
Was born in Cologne and became an Amsterdam Mennonite merchant who frequently traded with the Russian colony at Arkhangelsk. He is notable for having been the subject of a well-known portrait by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn in 1631, at the age of 58.
