Portrait of a Man
Artist
Unknown
Artist
Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen
(British, 1593-1661)
CultureDutch
Date1636
MediumOil on panel
Credit LineThe Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Object number0.3170
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on wood panel painting. It is of a portrait of a man in black from the waist up. He has a wide white standing collar. His left hand is on his hip. His clothes are black but ornate. His dark hair is parted on his right and his mustache and a goatee are a lighter color than his hair. He gazes at viewer and in his left hand he holds a cane.Label TextUnknown Dutch 17th century Portrait of a Man, 1636 Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.3170 The Latin inscription at the upper left-Anno 1636/A[etatis] 44-tells us that the sitter was 44 years old in 1636, the year this portrait was made. Unfortunately, we know nothing else about the gentleman portrayed here or the artist who painted him, though the style of the portrait has led some scholars to suggest that Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen is the likely author. Born in London to Dutch/German immigrant parents, Jonson was the most important native English portraitist of the early 17th century. He earned the patronage of both James I and Charles I, painting mostly bust-length images of the English royal court. After the great Flemish portraitist Anthony van Dyck arrived in England in 1643, Jonson's reputation and patronage rapidly declined, and he soon moved to Holland, where he painted for the rest of his life. While some have attributed the portrait to Jonson, others have argued that it was probably painted in Holland by another, still unknown portraitist, citing the sitter's clothing-in particular, his frilly ruff and densely patterned jacket-as far more typical of 17th-century Dutch than English dress. But whoever painted the portrait, the softness and luminosity of the flesh are beautifully achieved. Research on the painting will continue. Exhibition History"Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006.
ca. 1615
