van+der+Helst

**van der Helst**
Bartholomeus van der Helst was a Dutch Golden Age painter who was born in Haarlem in 1613. His artwork became popular when he was very young. Around 1636, van der Helst moved to Amsterdam. There, his artwork’s popularity skyrocketed, and he became the most popular portrait painter in Amsterdam. While the majority of his work was portraits, van der Helst also painted a few historical, biblical, and mythological scenes.

Once moving to Amsterdam, his life began. He married in 1636 and dated his first painting in 1637. In 1639, van der Helst painted his most renowned piece - __////__ __.__ He painted Gerard Andreisz Bicker, the son of the mayor. Today, this portrait is often used to exemplify how obesity was a characteristic of the upperclass.

Many scholars compare van der Helst’s artwork to the works of Rembrant. In fact, many of Rembrant’s pupils adopted van der Helst’s style over their teacher’s. Through those artists and van der Helst’s son, van der Helst’s style has continued to appear in art.