Lot 2040 Dα

The painting shows a three-quarter view of an elderly man sitting in an armchair. His gaze is turned towards the viewer, his right hand rests on a book, his left clasps a folded letter. So far we have not been able to establish the identity of the man, although the painter gives us a few clues: we know his age was 76 from the inscription at the top left and the address on the prominently staged letter is " A Sr Jan / Predicant", so we are also informed about the sitter's profession. Finally, the artist's monogram and the date are found on the back of the chair. Next to the seated figure of the preacher is a table covered with an oriental rug, on which another book and a round, wide-brimmed hat lie. Above it, a window opens with a lush red drapery as the usual sovereign motif in portrait painting. Our painting impresses above all with the meticulous depiction of the clothing, especially the radiant white millstone collar and the robe, which is shaded with the finest nuances of black and partly damascened with a floral pattern.


Jan Anthonisz Ravesteyn, who was born in The Hague and, with the exception of a presumed trip to Italy, lived there all his life, is one of the most important Dutch portrait painters of the first half of the 17th century. In addition to individual portraits, he also painted group portraits and was particularly successful with his militia group portraits. He himself was portrayed in turn by Anthony van Dyck in a grisaille painting now in Boughton House, Northamptonshire, and in a chalk drawing owned by the Albertina, Vienna, after which the engraving for the Oconography, the collection of portraits of famous Flemish artists, was made (cf. ill. 1).