Circle of Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Eugene Kraemer;
His sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, June 2-5, 1913, lot 61 (as by Rubens), to Stein (according to a handwritten note in catalogue);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Ader Picard & Tajan, 5 March 1986, lot 173 (as Studio of Rubens).

H. Vlieghe, Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, Part XIX:  Portraits of Identified Sitters Painted in Antwerp, London & New York 1987, p. 82, under cat. no. 93, as Copy no. 5.

The panel is made up of two vertically joined boards, beveled at the upper and lower edges, and has very slight vertical bow. The join appears to have opened slightly at some stage causing a crack in the paint surface running from the upper to lower edges at the centre of the panel. The crack has been strengthened on the reverse with batons and minor retouching is visible along it on the face of the painting. Due to the nature of the painting style the paint surface is thin in places and a little abraded. There is minor frame abrasion on the upper, lower and right edges, some small areas of lifting on the upper edge and a crack in the paint surface of approx. 1 in. in the lower left corner, retouching to these areas are confirmed under UV though visibility is impeded by a milky, uneven varnish. The painting would benefit from a revarnish. Offered in an elaborate carved gilt wood frame with some knocks and losses.
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.

This painting appears to be a near-contemporary repetition, with small compositional variations, of Rubens' original of circa 1635 or shortly after, now hanging in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, for which there is also a reduced-scale oil sketch on panel in the Detroit Institute of Arts.¹  In both of these autograph works there are slight compositional differences to the present painting, particularly in the staffage, as here there are additional riders in the lower left corner. Furthermore, the imperial eagle which flies adjacent to the Allegory of Fury at the top of the Prado and Detroit compositions is missing (or less evident) in the present derivation.  

1. Oil on canvas, 335 by 238 cm. and oil on panel, 120.5 by 91.5 cm. respectively. See Vlieghe, under Literature, pp. 82-85, cat. nos. 93 and 93a, reproduced figs. 76 and 77 respectively. The Prado painting was engraved by Paulus Pontius; published in M. Rooses, L'Oeuvre de Rubens, vol. IV, plate 286.