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Overview

With a slight tilt of his head, Peter Paul Rubens looks out at the viewer, his gaze warm yet penetrating. The image is surprisingly intimate. Rubens, a diplomat and court painter to the regents of the Southern Netherlands, Albert and Isabel, is here shown without the exquisite attire of his gentlemanly status. Instead, he wears a simple fur cloak over a black jacket and white shirt with his hair and beard curly and unkempt. Were this a more formal portrait, he would be wearing the gold chain he received when he was appointed court painter as well as the large-brimmed hat he often donned in self-portraits to hide his baldness. The remarkable informality suggests that a close associate of the master, probably a member of his workshop, executed the Gallery's painting.

This attribution is supported by technical and stylistic evidence. Analysis of the ground and imprimatura layer reveals a manner of preparation consistent with that of Rubens and his workshop. Technical examination of the tree rings in the panel further indicates that it was available for use around 1620, a date that accords well with Rubens's apparent age, 43. However, certain weaknesses in the modeling of the ears and lips, which lack real form and structure, and the surprisingly coarse brushstrokes found in the hair and fur cloak have made it difficult to identify a specific hand, but clearly not the hand of the master himself.

Provenance

S. Robinson, Esq., London.[1] art market, London; private collection, United States; purchased 1926 by (P. Jackson Higgs, New York); sold 1927 to William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York;[2] by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959], New York; bequest 1960 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1927
Exhibition Commemorating the 350th Anniversary of Peter Paul Rubens, P. Jackson Higgs Gallery, New York, 1927, unnumbered catalogue, as Portrait of the Artist by Rubens.
1936
Sixty Paintings and Some Drawings by Peter Paul Rubens, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1936, no. 23, as Self-Portrait by Rubens.
1998
A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 50, fig. 5.
2013
Rubens: Inspired by Italy and Established in Antwerp, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo; Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art; Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, 2013, no. 45, repro.
2015
From Rubens to the Grand Tour, Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland, 2015, unnumbered catalogue, fig. IV.

Bibliography

1926
Washburn-Freund, Frank E. "A Self-Portrait of Peter Paul Rubens." International Studio 84 (August 1926): 25, cover repro., as by Rubens.
1927
Washburn-Freund, Frank E. "An Unknown Self-Portrait by Rubens." Art in America 16, no. 1 (December 1927): 3-11, fig. 1, as by Rubens.
1944
Evers, Hans Gerhard. Rubens und sein Werk. Brussels, 1944: 332, 336, as by Rubens.
1947
Goris, Jan-Albert, and Julius S. Held. Rubens in America. New York, 1947: 46, no. A 15, as not by Rubens.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 119, as School of Rubens.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 106, repro., as School of Rubens.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 316, repro., as School of Rubens.
1976
Daugherty, Frances Perry. "The Self-Portraits of Peter Paul Rubens: Some Problems in Iconography." Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1976: 67-69, 78, 80, 337-339, no. 11-9, repro., as School of Rubens.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 363, repro.
1995
Lurie, Doron J. Van Dyke and His Age. Exh. cat. Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Tel Aviv, 1995: 88, as by Rubens.
2005
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 214-218, color repro.
2020
Libby, Alexandra. “From Personal Treasures to Public Gifts: The Flemish Painting Collection at the National Gallery of Art.” In America and the Art of Flanders: Collecting Paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and their Circles, edited by Esmée Quodbach. The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America 5. University Park, 2020: 139.

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