in his hometown, but it is unknown who his teacher was. It is logical to assume that it was Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594–1652), the most respected and talented master in Dordrecht. The long-standing hypothesis that Bol was educated in Utrecht by Abraham Bloemaert (1564–1651) has recently been refuted.

The artist completed his studies in 1635, as evidenced by four notarial documents, which he signed at the time as “Ferdinand Bol, artist” – that is, a full-fledged master. The following year, he left his hometown and went to Amsterdam, where he entered Rembrandt’s workshop. Bol quickly mastered his style and worked as a full-time assistant for several years, until about 1642. After that, he began his own successful career as an independent historical and portrait painter.

Following his teacher, Ferdinand Bol created many tronies (1, 2, 3), the first of which dates from 1644. For several years, until about 1650, he was largely guided by Rembrandt’s style. A striking example of this is the portrait of Elizabeth Bas, the widow of a wealthy tavern owner. Most scholars now regard this painting as an early work by Bol, although it had previously been considered an important work by Rembrandt.

Ferdinand Bol’s growing reputation was confirmed by his first major commission in 1649, a portrait of the regents of a leper asylum (leprosarium). The palette of this group painting is strongly reminiscent of Rembrandt, but the poses of the sitters anticipate the elegance that would become increasingly characteristic of Bol’s work after 1650.

In October 1653, Bol married and, thanks to his father-in-law, the wine merchant Aelbert Dell, became part of the upper crust of Amsterdam. His new relatives played a key role in his career, helping him obtain prestigious and highly paid commissions from various municipal institutions. However, the artist’s success was due not only to such patronage, but also to his great talent.

In 1655, Bol became the head of the Guild of St. Luke. And in 1658, he, along with Govert Flinck and two other artists, confessed to having painted nude women, which was illegal at the time.

In 1660, Lisbeth, Ferdinand Bol’s wife, died immediately after giving birth to their son Balthasar. The artist was very busy with work. In the following years, he completed several large commissions from both individuals and municipalities, not only in his hometown, but also in the neighboring cities of Leiden and Utrecht.

On October 10, 1669, a few days after Rembrandt’s funeral, Bol married the fabulously wealthy widow Anna van Erckel. The artist had known her for a long time: about twenty years earlier, he had painted her with her husband Erasmus Schaarlaken, treasurer of the Admiralty, in a wedding portrait as Isaac and Rebecca.

Now, according to the marriage contract, the artist owned sixty paintings, and his property was valued at a whopping 14,800 guilders. His wife was at least three times richer. Bol no longer needed to earn a living. Soon after the marriage, he practically stopped painting and lived mainly on investments.

The economic crisis that ended the Dutch Golden Age in 1672 does not seem to have affected Ferdinand Bol and his wife. In fact, according to tax records from 1674, their initial wealth even increased. As befits a man of his position, the artist joined the boards of several municipal institutions. In 1675, he was depicted in the painting “Six Regents and the Commandant of the Nursing Home in Amsterdam” by Pieter van Aanraadt. Bol is seated in the far left corner of the table.

Anna van Erckel died in April 1680. Bol survived his wife by only a few months and was buried on July 24 of the same year.