UTRECHT SCHOOL, CIRCA 1640 | A man holding an earthenware jug

Unfortunately the signature of the painting is hardly legible at this time. It would appear to be close to that of a Flute Player by an anonymous Utrecht or Haarlem based artist working in the ambient of Hendrick Ter Brugghen kept in the Staatliches Museum, Schwerin (see B. Nicolson, Caravaggism in Europe, Turin 1990, vol. 3, no. 1194). Aside from the obvious compositional similarities between this work and the Schwerin painting, both works share a similarly treated ear, flattened slope of the nose, and delineated wrinkles next to the eye. Furthermore, it seems possible that the sitters are identical, or at least derived from the same source. In its use of thickly applied and spirited brushwork, this panel is typical of the Haarlem style and demonstrates the influence of Frans Hals, Judith Leyster, and Jan Miense Molenaer. In composition, however, and its attempt at dynamic lighting effects, it is clearly looking to Utrecht, and specifically Dirck van Baburen.