Flemish School, mid 17th Century

Possibly Victor Wolfvoet, Antwerp, and in his inventory of autumn 1652;
Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794);
Sparre inv., no. 9.

Kristianstad, 1977, no. 33.

Göthe, 1895, p. 25, no. 56;
Hasselgren, 1974, pp. 113, 119, reproduced p. 187. 

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is in good condition. The paint layer is mostly stable with one or two areas of raised paint with microscopic losses. There is a small recent damage lower right and a retouched loss lower left. The varnish is degraded and discoloured , its removal would improve the tonality."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This is based on Rubens' original in the J.P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, or more probably, on Rubens' modello, formerly in the Heinemann collection, New York, with which it corresponds more closely.  The Sparre picture, which is of high quality, and in view of the Antwerp panel mark, likely to date from the 2nd quarter of the 17th Century, is not one of the five or more currently known copies listed in the Corpus Rubenianum volume, but it may well be the one listed in the inventory of the Estate of the Antwerp painter Victor Wolfvoet in Autumn 1652.  If so, the monogram W on the reverse of the panel may refer to Wolfvoet.¹

1.  See Corpus Rubenianm Ludwig Burchard, etc.