Follower of Michel Sittow

The colours are a little pinker than the illustrations suggest. The panel has an old cradle and appears flat and stable. The edges of the panel appear to be original and uncut with some of the original barb. A 1cm strip has been broken off from the panel in the past and has been repaired. In addition to this there are two further small splits, one of 12cm running up from the centre of the bottom edge and another of circa 7 cm running down from the upper left centre. The painting has fairly recently been cleaned and the painting given a glossy varnish. Overall the paint surface is well preserved for a picture of this state, the only signs of wear being in the sitters hair. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals retouchings to the splits mentioned above, and scattered local retouchings to the man's nose, chin and neck and to the centre of his tunic. There are also numerous scuffs and abrasions around the margins of the panel. The varnish has been scuffed in some areas. This lot is offered in a modern parcel giltwood frame surrounding a grey velvet mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This portrait is based on Michel Sittow’s supposed Portrait of Diego de Guevara in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.¹ Here the artist, an unidentified 16th-century Netherlandish hand, has taken the costume, pose and parapet from Sittow’s magnificent portrait and incorporated them into his version of this thinner, fuller-lipped sitter. In the present painting the sitter wears a plain black undergarment whereas in the Washington portrait Diego de Guevara’s embroidered undergarment is emblazoned with the cross of the order of Calatrava of which he was appointed warden of in 1517, thus providing a terminus post quem for the execution of both Sittow's and the present work.

The Washington portrait was originally conceived as a devotional diptych and the other half, a Madonna and Child with a Bird, is in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.² The two works are of identical size and the ornate carpet covering the parapet runs continually across the lower edge of both paintings. It seems likely that the present portrait was also conceived as the right half of a devotional diptych.

Although Sittow was mainly active in the Spanish Hapsburg court, Don Diego de Guevara was based at the Burgundian Hapsburg court from the late 15th century until his death in 1521. The early provenance of the Washington portrait places it in The Netherlands until 1538 thus suggesting that the artist of the present portrait must have been active in The Netherlands between 1517 and 1538.

We are grateful to Dr Ludwig Meyer for proposing that this is an autograph work by Sittow, on the basis of photographs.

1. M. Wolff, The Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Early Netherlandish Painting, Washington 1986, pp. 228-236, cat. no. 1937.1.46, reproduced in colour, p. 229.
2. J. Trizna, Michel Sittow, Brussels 1976, pp. 97-8, cat. no. 19, plate XIV.