South Netherlandish or German School, circa 1630

With Eric Turquin, Rue St. Anne, Paris (according to label on the reverse);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Tajan, 22 June 2006, lot 26 where acquired by the present owner.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is made up of three planks, two joins, and has been recently cleaned and restored. The paint layer is raised in some areas but is stable. There is an isolated split through the sitter's face. There are restorations along the vertical joins and the split, some restoration to minor losses and to a thinned paint layer in the background (some of which is imprecise and unnecessary) but apart from this the painting is in a good condition. The paint saturates well and the varnish is clean. Offered in a black lacquered frame with a gold sight edge in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The painter and indeed the precise origin of this impressive panel remain elusive. Although clearly aware of the impact of contemporary Caravaggism in the north, especially in the centres of Utrecht in the northern Netherlands and Antwerp in the south, its author has decried its interest in dramatic chiaroscuro in favour of a more decorative line. The elaborate costume and finely rendered still life elements, reminiscent of painters like Gottfried Wedig in Cologne, suggest that its author may have been working to the east of the Netherlands in the Rhineland. A similar artistic personality can be found, for example, in Simon Peter Tilmann (1601-1668), who was apprenticed in Utrecht and worked there from around 1637 to 1647, but otherwise worked in Bremen.