Lot 1059 Dα

Horace Walpole, the great writer and historian of English art, characterised the paintings of Cornelius Janssens van Ceulen as being "strongly marked with a fair character of nature, and remarkable for a lively tranquility in the countenances." And Bainbridge Buckeridge noted the "neat finishing, smooth painting", praising "that freedom of draught which the other was master of."
"The other" referred to Anthony van Dyck whose arrival at the court of Charles I in 1632 revolutionised English portraiture. Cornelius Janssens, born in London of Dutch immigrants, like all other painters in London was strongly influenced by van Dyck, the young Flemish star painter highly esteemed by the King and the court. From van Dyck, Janssens took the light and soft brushstroke thus applying liveliness and elegance to the sitter. The dog shown in profile, its coat giving an illusion of tangibility, is an ennobling motif also derived from van Dyck´s art.
Janssens probably studied with Jan van Ravesteyn or Jan Michiel van Miereveld and his early paintings appear somewhat studious and stiff in comparison to his later works. In 1632, Janssens became one of the court painters to King Charles I, painting miniatures as well as representative full-length portraits, and received commissions from the court as well as from the higher and lower nobility. The political unrest in England and the following decline of art patronage probably led Janssens to Holland in 1643 - first to Middelburgh and then to Utrecht. As a result, Janssens can be considered to be one of the artists that brought the brillant style of the Fleming van Dyck to Holland by way of London. This elegant portrait is an excellent example of the "smooth painting“ that was to characterise Dutch portraiture in the second half of the 17th century.
(About Cornelius Janssens van Ceulen cf. Karen Hearn: The English Career of Cornelius Johnson. In: Juliete Roding et altri (ed.): Dutch and Flemish Artists in Britain 1550-1800 Leiden 2003, pp. 113-128).