Milanese School, 17th century

Anonymous sale, The Hague, Venduhuis, 25 April 1995, lot 27 (as Italian School, 17th Century);

Anonymous sale, London, Philipps, 12 May 1995, lot 152 (as Attributed to Hendrick Gerritsz Pot);

Thereafter acquired by the present owner.

Sentenced to death by Nero, the Stoic philosopher Seneca committed suicide by slitting his own wrists. The paper he holds at right alludes to the philosopher's last words, thereby emphasizing the connection between Stoic treatises and Christian writing, both of which emphasize controlling one's baser instincts and passions. The subject, popular in Europe during the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, enabled artists to display their ability to depict the effects of sagging flesh with painterly bravura.