Attributed to Philip Fruytiers

Sold in attractive dark wood and gilt frame. Appears to be in very good condition. There are some minor losses to the pigment at the upper corners, and some small areas of abrasion visible, but are not very prominent.
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This gouache derives from Rubens' portrait of Nicolaas Rockox, which makes up the left-hand panel of the Rockox Triptych.  The triptych was commissioned in 1613 for the chapel of the Virgin in the Antwerp church of Minderbroeders-Recoletten, and depicts the patron and his wife, Adriana Perez, either side of a central panel that shows The Incredulity of Saint Thomas.¹

Rockox (1560-1640) was a higly important figure in the public life of Antwerp.  Not only did he hold the position of Burgomaster for eight terms, he was also Justice of the Peace and Chief Treasurer, amongst other roles.  Furthermore, Rockox was a friend and patron of Rubens, commissioning from him such paintings as the Deposition of 1611 which still hangs in Antwerp Cathedral, the Adoration of the Magi, now in the Prado, and the Samson and Delilah in the National Gallery, London. 

Somewhat less, however, is know about Fruytiers, a Flemish painter in the orbit of Rubens.  To date, very little has been attributed to him, although he is known to have painted several altarpieces in Antwerp churches, and the charming watercolour in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, depicting the four children of Rubens and Helena Fourment which may, like the present work, be based on a Rubens painting.  By comparison with the latter, Fruytiers seems to be a plausible attribution for this portrait.²

1.  See M. Jaffé, Rubens Catalogo Completo, Milan 1990, p. 190, cat. nos. 221A-C 

2.  See C. White and C. Crawley, The Dutch and Flemish Drawings in Windsor Castle, Cambridge 1994, p. 245, cat. no. 362