Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Held in the hand or displayed in a private domestic space, miniature portraits were designed for intimate viewing. The sitter holds a watch, often a symbol of mortality and the passage of time. Like his colleague Gerrit Dou, Slingelandt was one of the Leiden fijnschilders (fine painters), a group of artists whose paintings were internationally recognized for their extraordinary detail and precise technique. The domed building in the background of this portrait is the Marekerk, one of Leiden's most distinctive architectural landmarks.