ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT | Portrait of a bearded old man, half length

oil on canvas, laid down on board, unframed; signed and dated lower left: 'ABloemaert. fec / 1634'

Possibly Herr Carl Chr. E. Meyer, by 1904;
Private collection, London, circa 1970;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Possibly Bremen, Kunsthalle Bremen, 'Ausstellung historischer Gemälde aus bremischem Privatbesitz in der Kunsthalle,' October - November 1904, no. 118 (as dated 1632).

Possibly M. Roethlisberger, 'Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons: Paintings and Prints,' Netherlands 1993, vol. I, p. 329, cat. no. 517 (as dated 1632).
Possibly C. Schünemann, 'Katalog der Ausstellung historischer Gemälde aus bremischem Privatbesitz in der Kunsthalle,' Bremen 1904, p. 50, no. 118 (as dated 1632).

The canvas has been laid on board. The painting presents a striking image with the paint surface well retained especially on the face of the sitter. There is some minor loss of detail on the darker hues as is normal for a painting of this age. Some scattered spots of strengthening are visible to the naked eye on the sitter's hair, with a more prominent thin line above and below his ear. The aforementioned restorations fluoresce under UV, along with dots of retouches scattered here and there on the background like on the left edge and lower edge at center. The painting is offered unframed, but can otherwise hang in its present state.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

In description, measurement, and signature, this portrait appears to be a match to a lost painting by Abraham Bloemaert, last known to have been exhibited in 1904 at Kunsthalle Bremen, where it was seen by Hofstede de Groot.¹  Like the present painting, the missing composition depicts a “Head of an old, bearded man in profile facing left, with white beard and hair on his head,” and the measurements of the painted surface are almost an identical match.²   Although Roethlisberger notes in his monograph that this painting is signed “A. B. f. 1632”³, which he likely pulled from the 1904 exhibition catalogue, in Hofstede de Groot’s annotated copy of this catalogue, he clarifies that the signature should read “ABloemaert. fec. / 1634”⁴, which is consistent with the signature on the present lot. The Dutch artist Abraham Bloemaert was one of the lead contributors of the School of Utrecht, as is evident by the vastness of his oeuvre and large number of pupils. He was a highly sought after artist, and most of his works, which consisted of history subjects and landscape scenes, were made according to the market’s demands. In addition, throughout the 1630s, Bloemaert executed a series of heads of elderly figures, such as the present portrait.  These types of portraits were probably not commissioned, and perhaps were of personal interest to Bloemaert, who would have been in his 70s at the time they were painted.⁵ When taking this into consideration, his portraits of aged sitters serve as sincere studies of expression executed with the utmost liberty.

 

1. M. Roethlisberger, 'Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons: Paintings and Prints,' Netherlands 1993, vol. I, p. 329, cat. no. 517. Also, see under Exhibition.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. 'Katalog der Ausstellung historischer Gemälde aus bremischem Privatbesitz in der Kunsthalle,' Bremen 1904, p. 50, no. 118.
5. M. Roethlisberger, 'Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons: Paintings and Prints,' Netherlands 1993, vol. I, p. 34.