Lot 254
  • 254

FLEMISH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY | Three studies of the head of a man

Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Three studies of the head of a man
  • oil on canvas
  • 20 by 26 1/8  in.; 51 by 66.5 cm.

Catalogue Note

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 numerous occasions, and seem to have functioned in certain cases as figure types which could be used repeatedly.  The modeling of the subject's head is reminiscent of Rubens' Saint Thomas from the so-called Lerma Series in the Museo del Prado (fig. 1). The single-source spot lighting, high vantage point, and specific focus on the tactile texture of the skin all point to a similar moment and place of execution.