ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT | Portrait of an old man, half-length, wearing a hat with a feather

E. Strache (or Stracke), 1879;

Professor Dr. Hermann Widerhofer (1832-1901), Vienna;

His sale, Vienna, E. Hirschler & Co., 18-20 February 1902, lot 11;

Sonntag collection, Cappenberg, whence acquired in 1976.

B. Lymant, Niederländische Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts, vol. 1: Porträt, Liesborn 1985, p. 8, reproduced;

M.G. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons. Paintings and prints, Doornspijk 1993, vol. I, p. 331, cat. no. 522, reproduced in colour vol. II, plate XXX and fig. 706;

H.-J. Raupp (ed.), Niederländische Malerei des. 17. Jahrhunderts der SØR Rusche-Sammlung, vol. I, Portraits, Münster/Hamburg/London 1995, pp. 26-29, cat. no. 5, reproduced in colour.

Liesborn, Museum Abtei Liesborn, on loan.

The SØR Rusche Collection has been exhibited extensively over the last two decades. Please click here for further information.

Roethlisberger (see Literature) suggests a date for this painting of circa 1634, comparing it to other genre heads by Bloemaert, of similar dimensions, such as the pair of works dated to this year, depicting An old man and An old woman, most recently recorded with Johnny van Haeften in 2010.¹ 

1 https://rkd.nl/explore/images/209822