Cornelis Holsteyn
Dutch painter (1618-1658)
Cornelis Holsteyn (1618 – 2 December 1658) was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Haarlem.
Biography
According to the RKD he was a painter of historical allegories, portraits, and interior decorations, trained by his father Pieter Holsteyn I. According to Houbraken, his father was a glass painter, and thus was trained for glass painting, but the market in glass painting not being what it was, he turned his hand to painting canvas. Houbraken felt he received less for a painting than he deserved, because his work was of a very high quality. He describes a Triumph of Bacchus, and a Lycurgus, which was painted for the Amsterdam Orphanage.
According to the RKD, he moved to Amsterdam with his brother Pieter Holsteyn II in 1647, became poorter there in 1652, and was betrothed there on Christmas Eve, 1654. He was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk on December 2, 1658, from his home on the Rozengracht. Houbraken claimed he had been fit until his sudden death by Hartvang, or heart-attack.
The public source identifies “Cornelis Holsteyn” as dutch painter (1618-1658). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cornelis, Holsteyn and Dutch.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Cornelis Holsteyn”, the useful work is to connect “dutch painter (1618-1658)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2669459. VIAF identifies the subject as 5201705. The Library of Congress control number is nr93047461. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1618, 1658, 1647 and 1652.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cornelis Holsteyn”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cornelis Holsteyn primary sources, Cornelis Holsteyn archive and Cornelis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cornelis Holsteyn”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cornelis Holsteyn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.