Aelbert Jansz. van der Schoor

Aelbert Jansz. van der Schoor was active as a painter in Utrecht from about 1620 to 1672, with additional documented work in Dordrecht. His birth is recorded only as in or before 1603, per the Rijksmuseum catalogue; the exact day, month, and any corroborating archival trace are not documented in surviving sources. For years his identity was confused with that of a supposed separate painter, Abraham van der Schoor, until researchers found his full signature on a 1648 will and confirmed that both names referred to the same artist.

The Rijksmuseum's catalogue records that the last archival trace of him is a payment made in September 1672, after which his whereabouts are unknown. Most reference sources therefore describe his death only as circa 1672, probably in Utrecht; a specific death date of 1 September 1672 appears in some structured databases but is not supported by any cited archival document in the scholarly catalogue entries, so it should be treated as unconfirmed. Some sources report his documented oeuvre at about 30 known works, most signed, though this figure could not be independently confirmed in current research.

Reference literature on van der Schoor is consistently sparse. The Web Gallery of Art notes only that little is documented about this artist, and most other sources, including the Rijksmuseum's own catalogue texts, focus on archival identification rather than critical interpretation. Dealer material attributed to the Steigrad Gallery describes his style as colorful and built on monumental figures, though this description could not be independently corroborated in current research and should be treated as unverified. Scholars have suggested, without documentary proof, that his style reflects the influence of Abraham Bloemaert. No verbatim critical assessment from a named critic in a major newspaper or magazine could be located in current research.

No confirmed all-time auction record for van der Schoor could be established from current research. Standard reference sources on his life and work, including the Rijksmuseum's own catalogue entries, describe his paintings as museum holdings rather than as auction lots, and no auction house, sale price, or sale date for his work turned up in the available research. His work does appear occasionally in the dealer market; the Steigrad Gallery in New York has offered a fish still life titled A Young Fish Seller, though this listing could not be independently confirmed in the current research dossier and no exhibition or sale date for that work is documented. Given the absence of verified sale data, any figure presented as his auction record should be treated as unconfirmed until it can be checked against auction house archives or a specialist price database.

There is no catalogue raisonne for van der Schoor, and his documented oeuvre is reported by some sources as small, about 30 known works, though this figure is unconfirmed in current research. Attribution history for this artist is unusually complicated: for years his paintings were split between his own name and a supposed separate painter, Abraham van der Schoor, until a signed 1648 will clarified that both referred to the same man. Because public auction data for this artist could not be confirmed in current research, collectors should rely on museum publications, provenance documentation, and signature comparison rather than on price history when evaluating a work attributed to him.