Frans Pourbus the Elder

This portrait of an unknown gentleman was painted by Frans Pourbus the Elder, one of the leading Flemish portrait painters of the sixteenth century. He likely first trained with his father, Pieter Pourbus, in Bruges, but by 1564 he is recorded working in the studio of Frans Floris in Antwerp. Although his style can be closely compared to that of his contemporaries Anthonis Mor and Adriaen Thomasz. Key, distinguishing features of Frans Pourbus the Elder’s works are his innate ability to capture the psychology of his sitters, his observational skills, and his highly detailed depictions of costumes, all of which are visible in the present portrait. With a confident brush, Pourbus has rendered this man in a nearly half-length format against a dark background. The sitter engages directly with the audience with a furrowed brow and perhaps even with a faint smile on his face. His elegant attire and his gold chain affirm his elevated position in society, and although his identity remains unknown, his strawberry-blonde hair, closely cropped on the crown of his head and forming a thick and forked beard, is one of his distinctive characteristics. Some similarities can be drawn between this portrait and Pourbus’ bust-length Portrait of an Old Man in the Manchester Art Gallery.¹ 

We are grateful to Professor Dr. Koenraad Jonckheere for endorsing the attribution of the present lot on the basis of digital images.

1.   Inv. no. 1950.298, oil on panel, 40.6 by 30.4 cm.