LEIDEN SCHOOL, CIRCA 1630 | Portrait of a bearded man, half-length, wearing a cap

F.M. Gerritsen, Oegstgeest, 1963.

This painting was clearly produced by an artist working in the circle of Jan Lievens and Rembrandt, with close knowledge of Lievens' preferred subjects and technique - such as the way the hair and beard of the old man is described by using the pointed end of a brush or similar implement to incise the wet paint. Dendrochronological analysis carried out by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein has revealed that the panel used for this painting is made from the same tree as that used for the boards in three other contemporary works, with a youngest annual ring from 1609: Rembrandt's Andromeda chained to the rocks (Mauritshuis, The Hague, inv. no. 707);¹ Lievens' Rembrandt's Mother (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, inv. no. 1580C);² and a Portrait of a man, attributed to Lievens (private collection) - all datable to circa 1630.

1 https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/artworks/andromeda-707/

2 https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/338315