Jan Havicksz. Steen

Johannes Caudri, senior member of the old East India Company (according to Lugt), Amsterdam;
His deceased sale, Amsterdam, Van der Schley, 6 September 1809, lot 63, for 40 florins to Spaan;
J.B. Mettenbrinck, ancient burgomaster of Barneveld (according to Lugt), Amsterdam;
His deceased sale, Amsterdam, Roos, 16 April 1861, lot 36, for 228 Florins to Hollander;
H.E. ten Cate, Almelo, by 1926;
By whom sold to Hans Wetzlar (according to Braun);
With D. Katz, Dieren, before the Second World War (according to Braun);
J. Lek, New York;
By whom (anonymously) sold, New York, Parke Bernet, 29 November 1961, lot 14;
Dr. Hans Wetzlar, Amsterdam, 1961.

Leiden, Lakenhal, Jan Steen, 1926, no 75.

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. I, London 1907, p. 235, no. 865b;
C.H. de Jonge, Jan Steen, Amsterdam, n.d., p. 48;
K. Braun, Alle tot nu bekende schilderijen van Jan Steen, Rotterdam 1980, p. 178, no. B-257, reproduced p. 179, as not by Jan Steen;
Voorkeuren, 1985, p. 64, reproduced p. 65.

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has a firm old lining and stretcher, and the present varnish is slightly dimmed. There is a grainy ground and the fine craquelure has a few faint horizontals, along the upper stretcher bar and perhaps distantly repeated in the upper left background where there might be a little old retouching. There is one brief fairly recent surface scratch in the lower centre. However the painting is in very beautiful condition generally. The free brushwork of the head and hands is finely intact, as are the lovely shirt cuffs and musical mss on the table. The darks have naturally grown more transparent over time but the balance remains well preserved, with the lute itself and apparently vibrating strings subtly brushed in. The gradations of light in the background may have grown slightly stronger with age and the ground grown rather more visible in the lightly veiled shadows but the overall unity and remarkable freshness of the image is well preserved. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"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."

This picture was always considered to be by Jan Steen until placed under wrong attributions by Braun ("Een zeer fraai stuk, evenwel geen zelfportret en evenmin eigenhandig").  It seems unlikely that Braun had ever seen the picture, and he probably based his judgement on a photograph.  Whether this is a self-portrait, or a caricatural study incorporating Steen's features, is a matter of definition, since Steen's self-portraits all retain a high degree of caricature, and he incorporated his own features in characters in many of his paintings.

Maarten Bijl, who wrote a pioneering essay on Steen's technique for the recent exhibition of his works in Washington and Amsterdam in 1996-97, has very kindly suggested on the basis of first hand inspection that this picture may date from the latter part of Steen's career on acount of the elongated proportions of the figure. The rapid painting technique (applied alla prima), particularly in the handling of the sleeves and the flesh tones, is typical of Steen himself.

Wouter Kloek, who was one of the three co-curators of the Jan Steen exhibition, has also kindly confirmed Steen's authorship of the Wetzlar picture, noting that the penumbra in the background around the head is typical of the artist.