Circle of Jacob Jordaens

The work is on several sheets of joined paper. There is a 1 inch break to the paper below the chin. Surface in generally good condition aside from pigment separation throughout mainly at the margins. Some paintloss mainly around the ear. Other areas of thiness mainly below beard and above face. Under UV; no apparent repaint.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Though not directly related to a known composition, the present model may be the same as that used for the standing figure in the foreground of Jordaens' Battle between Lapiths and Centaurs from around 1615 (private collection, England). The sitter may have been a studio model, whose likeness would have been recorded in various figure studies and later incorporated into other multi-figural compositions. The practice of creating, keeping, and re-using studio studies made from life was first developed by Frans Floris in the Southern Netherlands, and later embraced by Jordaens' Flemish contemporaries, Rubens and Van Dyck. Both Van Dyck and Jordaens were in Rubens' studio around 1615-20, and would have been very much aware of - and involved in the production of - figure studies for communal studio use. These were often recycled in a sense, or used on more than one occasion, and they seem to have functioned in certain cases as figure types which could be used repeatedly.