Lot 128
Attributed to Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680)
Lot 128 Details
Attributed to Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680), Dutch
AN OLD BEARDED MAN, HALF LENGTH, IN PROFILE, FACING RIGHT, HIS EYES FIXATED DOWNWARDS TO THE LEFT, WEARING A BLACK, HIGH-NECKED JACKET ACCENTUATED WITH A LACE- TRIMMED COLLAR, WEARING A CAP (OR ORIENTAL TURBAN?) WITH A WHITE FUR POM ?, HOLDING AN OBJECT WITH A HANDLE IN HIS LEFT HAND
Oil on canvas; possibly signed and possibly dated 1667 lower right, given to "Ferdinand Bol 1611-1681 (sic)" and titled "Portrait of an Old Man" to an old typed label to the stretcher. Unframed.
24 x 20 in — 61 x 50.8 cm
Estimate $3,000-$5,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
From a very old Estate Collection in Port Carling, ON
Note:
Ferdinand Bol became an apprentice of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) around 1631, and may have been inspired by the master while painting this portrait. The bare brown background and the artist’s use of chiaroscuro are reminiscent of many of Rembrandt’s portraits and self-portraits.
This lot is similar to Bol’s "Portrait of a Man with helmet" in the collection of the Tula Museum of Fine Arts in Russia.
Bol often made drawings of the same subject as a preparatory study that would have proceeded the painting. He was also known to have made etchings of his painted works. This avenue of research may unearth further identification of the artist of this mysterious portrait of an old man of the 17th Century.