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Portrait of a Man

Early 20th century
Attributed to Joseph Van der Veken (Belgian, 1872–1964)
Although this portrait has the general appearance of a Netherlandish painting of the early sixteenth century, recent art historical and technical research suggests that it was probably made by the modern Belgian conservator Joseph Van de Veken, who in the early twentieth century produced numerous paintings in imitation of early Netherlandish masters. Previously attributed to a sixteenth-century follower of Jan Mostaert (c. 1475-1555/56), the picture is stylistically very close to portraits known to be by Van der Veken, such as the Portrait of Emperor Maximilian I in the collection of Louise Dolphijn-Van der Veken, Genappe, Belgium (see Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique [IRPA], Brussels, photo library, cliché no. Y003228) and the Portrait of a Man formerly in the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid, for which a preparatory drawing by Van der Veken is preserved in the collection of Louise Dolphijn-Van der Veken (see IRPA, photo library, cliché nos. B184598 and Y003266). The eyes and nose of the sitter in the Philadelphia portrait appear in nearly the exact same form in a portrait drawing by Van der Veken in the collection of Louise Dolphijn-Van der Veken (see IRPA, photo library, cliché no. Y003256). For both, the artist borrowed from and modified the facial features of an Italian Renaissance portrait that itself is indebted to early Netherlandish models: Pietro Perugino's (c. 1450-1523) Portrait of Francesco delle Opere in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence (no. 1700).

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Object Details

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Currently not on view