Beschreibung:

Attributed to Jacob Willemsz. Delff the Younger (Delft 1619 - 1661). Portrait of a Man, traditionally thought to be Hugo Grotius circa 1642, oil on bevelled wood panel, 49.2 x 63.3 cm (19 3/8 x 25 7/8 ins), with an early to mid 20th century German label verso typewritten: ‘Maler: Willem Jacobszoon Delff / 1580-1638 Delft, Niederl./ Hugo de Groot, gen. Grotius/ 49,2 x 63,3 cm’ numbered in pen and ink ‘236’, a further red chalk number '36' verso, with a further 18th to 19th century label numbered in pen and ink '467', in a fine, early gilded foliate and beaded frame (75 x 61 cm) (Quantity: 1) Provenance: Prince Frederick George William Christopher of Prussia (1911 – 1966), also known as Friedrich von Preussen, who married Brigid Guinness on 30 July 1945 at Little Hadham. He was the owner of Schloss Reinhartshausen at Erbach, Germany. In 1966, he drowned in the Rhine, aged 54. Following his death, parts of his estate were sold at auction; Colin Bather (1933-1996), who purchased the present work directly from the estate, circa 1972-73 at the invitation of Brigid Guiness; thence by descent. Although this very fine portrait, traditionally depicting the Dutch scholar Huigh Grotius, or Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) bears an attribution to Willem Jacobsz. Delff (1580-1638) on an old typewritten German label to verso, there are no comparable works to our portrait by this artist, who as far as is known was exclusively a reproductive portrait engraver. However, Dutch expert Jasper Hillegers (see biography below) has identified a compelling comparison in a portrait of A Young Man by Willem Jacobsz. Delff’s son, Jacob Willemsz. Delff II (1619-1661), in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, dated 1642, in which the sitter wears a very similar collar and jacket to those of our sitter. Although 1642 is a little later than Hillegers would have estimated on the basis of the fashion, which he would have dated to circa 1635, he believes that this fashion was clearly also worn in the 1640s. Hilleger feels that the execution of the face of the Rotterdam sitter seems a little more bland than that of the present work, the striking overall affinities seem to make a case for Jacob Willemsz. Delff II. The overall pose, painterly treatment of the flesh, finesse of the painting of the fine soft hair, beard and moustache, and the transition in the background from dark to light, all seem to argue for Delff’s authorship here. We are indebted to Jasper Hillegers for this catalogue essay. Hillegers was former assistant curator at the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, who has (co)curated several exhibitions (including Gérard De Lairesse in Enschede); and has contributed to numerous catalogues (among others, Salomon Lilian, Frans Hals Museum, Rembrandthuis, Joods Historisch Museum, Paleis op de Dam, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Städel Museum/National Gallery of Canada, Fondation Custodia) and co author of The Art of Laughter: Humour in Dutch Paintings of the Golden Age, 2018.