178 fig. 1: peter paul rubens, Head of a Moor, New York, Hyde ...

178
cat. 52
fig. 1: peter paul rubens,
Head of a Moor, New York,
Hyde Collection, Glens Falls

52
Four Studies of a Moor’s Head
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Oil, originally on panel, transferred to canvas, 51 ◊ 66 cm
Brussels, rmfab, inv. 3176
prov. : Pommersfelden, castle Weissenstein (inv. 1719, 1746, 1857); 1867 sale, Paris; sold as part of the Narischkine
collection in 1883, purchased by Prince Demidoff of San Donato, castle Pratolino; purchased from him through
Léon Gauchez in 1890 for the rmfab.
exh. : København 1931, no. 23; Amsterdam 1933, no. 58; Paris 1936, no. 21; Brussels 1937, no. 60; Amsterdam/
Rotterdam 1946, no. 65; Paris 1952-1953, no. 72; Brussels 1953 [1] , no. 36; Rotterdam 1953-1954, no. 17; Brussels 1965,
no. 218; London 1973.
bibl. : Rooses 1886-1892, v, no. 858; cat. exh. Brussels 1937, no. 60; D’Hulst 1954; Norris 1954, p. 26; Held 1975;
Held 1980, i, no. 441; Held 1981, p. 56; Held 1982 [1] , Pauwels 1984 p. 253; Van Kalck 2003 [5] , p. 236; cat. exh.
Greenwich/Berkeley/Cincinnati 2004-2005, sub no. 7.
This painting shows four studies painted naar het leven, or directly from life, of the same
African man, or ‘moor’, the collective name for people from Africa in Rubens’ time. The man
can be seen from various points of view, with expressions ranging from serene to joyful. He
wears a shirt with a broad collar under an ochre doublet. The two heads on the left were probably
painted fi rst, and the two uppermost heads on the right added later in reduced format. In
the past, this sketch was not always attributed to Rubens. Held accepts the Rubens attribution
on the grounds of the sketch’s coloration, attention to physiognomy, suppleness and fl uidity
of execution, and the pentimenti resulting from the creative process. 1
The tronie, or head study, was used for the black king in the Adoration of the Magi in Brussels
(cat. 51), and the man appears in other compositions by Rubens as well, such as Nature Adorned
by the Graces in a Garland of Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers (cat. 24), which was made in collaboration
with Jan Brueghel the Elder. 2 The head study in Glens Falls probably also depicts the same
man, and was likewise painted from life (fi g. 1). 3
Rubens painted a large number of this type of study between his return from Italy in 1608
and the 1630s (cat. 4). In the inventory of his art collection, drawn up after his death, we fi nd
‘A quantity of faces from life, on canvas, & panel, by both Mons. Rubens and Mons. Van Dyck’. 4
Among the ‘heads’ that have survived, the inclusion of four studies on a single panel is unique.
The depiction of skin color struck by incident light using various shades of brown, brick-red,
bluish-gray and black appears to have had a special fascination for the artist.
np | hd
1 Held 1975, p. 189-192.
2 The man also appears in the Adoration of the Magi in the Church of St. John, Mechelen,
and the Drunken Silenus and Large Last Judgment in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
3 Held 1975, 189-192; cat. exh. Greenwich/Berkeley/Cincinnati 2004-2005, sub no. 7.
4 Cat. exh. Antwerpen 2004, p. 333.
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