Second photo without a light...
Note held in the hand of a man in a portrait from 1580
This is an unusual request on the Forum, and I realise it's a difficult task but would welcome even a small suggestion as to what the text says- if indeed it is readable at all.
The note is held in the hand of Adriaen de Vriese who lived in Harlaam. The portrait is dated 1580 when he was 32 yrs old. He was the great grandfather of the Schoonhoven sisters who I'm researching.
with many thanks as always.
Anne
p.s I'll add a second photo of the note- taken without illumination in case that's 'easier' to read....
Reacties (7)
Dear Anne,
Here a digital version of the whole painting. The first line seems to open with 'Dese', the second with 'zeegenn'.
I can read: Dese brieff sy / ge..h..men <?> .... / gelijk tot ... , the rest might become clear too.
Well done Rene and Otto for having a go at transcribing this incredibly difficult text.
Thanks also for the copy of the portrait Rene. I was lucky enough to see the original in The Hague yesterday. I took the close ups of the note using my phone, but the note is on an angle in the portrait as you can see, so it was difficult to get a good shot.
So translating the 4 words which are legible I make it:
"This letter......equal to"
Otto where you put / was that the end of a line on the letter?
Is there any other way to enhance the text do you think that would help decipher it?
with my grateful thanks as always.
Anne
Photoshop-generated. It seems to say:
Dese brief sij
zoegenn eener
....
....
Attempt2
The painting of Adreain Dircksz. de Vriese stems from the collection of the Klaeuwshofje in Delft. It is since 1979 on loan in the holidngs of Museum Prinsenhof in Delft, https://www.museumprinsenhofdelft.nl/collectie/104880 , object no. B 49-3.. The painting is by Pieter Pietersz. The RKD record for it has only a black-and-white photograph, and the information needs updating, see https://rkd.nl/images/26359 . .
Anne, if it reads indeed gelijk this word means here probably "just as". I am trying to deform this image, too, but I have no yet advanced much. It reminds me of the Letterlokcing project, https://letterlocking.org/ , for opening and reading unopened Early Modern letters....
Anne
zei op woensdag 26 november 2025 - 13:00