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Follower of Dirck Bouts

Portrait of a Donor, c. 1470/1475

Not on View

Medium

oil on hardboard transferred from panel

Dimensions

painted surface: 25.7 x 20.6 cm (10 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
overall (panel): 27.2 x 22.2 cm (10 11/16 x 8 3/4 in.)

framed: 43.5 x 38.1 x 6.9 cm (17 1/8 x 15 x 2 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1961.9.66

Artists / Makers

Anonymous Artist (painter)

Dirck Bouts (related artist) Netherlandish, c. 1415/1420 - 1475

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

John Osmaston, Osmaston Manor, Derbyshire, by 1879.[1] Alfred Brown, Brighton, by 1906.[2] Mrs. M. A. T. Slark; (sale, Christie's, London, 25 June 1948, no. 67, as by Jan van Eyck); acquired by (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich).[3] (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, by 1950); on joint account with (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London) and (Pinakos, Inc [Rudolf Heinemann], New York); purchased February 1952 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[4] gift 1961 to NGA.

[1] John Osmaston is listed as owner in Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School, London, Royal Academy of the Arts, 1879, no. 218 (as Jan van Eyck).

[2] Alfred Brown is listed as owner in Exhibition of Works by Flemish and Modern Belgian Painters, London, Art Gallery of the Corporation of London (Guildhall), 1906, no. 4 (as John van Eyck).

[3] Seller and buyer per annotated auctioneer catalogue, Christie's Archive, London.

[4] M. Knoedler & Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Stock book no. 10, p. 40, no. A3945, and Sales book no. 16, p. 383 (copies in NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1667).

Associated Names

Agnew & Sons, Ltd., Thomas
Brown, Alfred
Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd.
Heinemann, Rudolf J.
Knoedler & Company, M.
Koetser Gallery, David M.
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.
Osmaston, John
Slark, M.A.T., Mrs.

Exhibition History

1879: Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1879, no. 218, as Jan van Eyck.

1906: Exhibition of Works by Flemish and Modern Belgian Painters, Art Gallery of the Corporation of London [Guildhall], 1906, no. 4, as John van Eyck.

1950: Art of the Middle Ages, The Denver Art Museum, 1950-1951, no cat., as Dirck Bouts.

Technical Summary

Although there is no written record of a transfer, laboratory examination strongly suggests that the paint and ground layers were removed from the original wood support and attached to a hardboard panel.[1] The reverse and edges of the panel were then veneered with what is probably oak. The background has been badly damaged and extensively overpainted in paint that is similar in tone to the original, but denser. The hair also has been heavily overpainted. There are losses, filled and unfilled, in the background and robe. The robe and areas of flesh are in relatively good condition. The painting was restored in 1949 and 1955.

[1] NGA 1975, 44, lists the support as wood, while Eisler 1977, 54, states that the panel was transferred to hardboard (masonite), but gives no further information or date for the transfer.

Bibliography

1906: Friedländer, Max J. "Die Leihausstellung in der Guildhall zu London, Sommer 1906, Hauptsächlich niederländische Bilder des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 29 (1906): 574.

1906: Weale, W. H. James. "Netherlandish Art at the Guildhall. Part 1." The Burlington Magazine 9 (1906): 186.

1924: Friedländer, Max J. Die altniederländische Malerei 14 vols. 1924-1937. Berlin, 1925: 3:106, no. 7, pl. 12. (English ed., 14 vols., 1967-1976. Leiden, 1968: 3:no. 7, pl. 13.)

1929: Fierens, Gevaert, and Paul Fierens. Histoire de la peinture flamande des origines à la fin du XVe siècle. 3 vols. Paris and Brussels, 1929: 3:18.

1932: Baldass, Ludwig. "Die Entwicklung des Dirk Bouts. Eine Stilgeschichtliche Untersuchung." Jahrbuch des kunsthistorisches Sammlung in Wien N. F. 6 (1932): 93

1938: Schöne, Wolfgang. Dieric Bouts und seine Schule. Berlin and Leipzig, 1938: 41, 170, no. 54, pl. 72a.

1950: Bach, Otto Karl. "Art of the Middle Ages." Denver Art Museum Quarterly (Winter 1950): 7-8, repro.

1956: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 42, no. 12, repro., as by Dirck Bouts.

1959: Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 282, repro., as by Dirck Bouts.

1964: Winkler, Friedrich. Das Werk des Hugo van der Goes. Berlin, 1964: 254, fig. 200.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 19, as by Bouts.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 12, repro., as by Bouts.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue (National Gallery of Art). Washington, 1975: 44-45, repro, as by Dirck Bouts.

1977: Eisler, Colin. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. Oxford, 1977: 54, fig. 56, as Donor Portrait by Circle of Dieric Bouts.

1977: Pope-Hennessy, John. "Completing the Account." Review of Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London 1977. Times Literary Supplement no. 3,927 (17 June 1977).

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New and Revised Edition. Washington, 1984: 125, no. 110, color repro., as by Dirk Bouts.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 66, repro.

1986: Hand, John Oliver and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1986: 25-26, repro. 24.