Circle of Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish 1577-1640) Portrait of a Putto

Artist: Circle of Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish 1577-1640).
Title: Portrait of a Putto.
(Likely Nicolaas Rubens) Circa 1620.
Medium: Oil on laid paper on panel.
Condition: This work is in very good condition, recently being cleaned. It is glazed with anti-reflective invisible ArtGlass AR70.
Provenance: Private Collection London.

About: The 17th century was the Golden Age of Dutch art, partly due to the large number of exceptional artists that emerged during this period. 17th-century portraiture, landscape, still life and genre painting all became subjects in their own right. The first half of 17th-century Flemish art is dominated by the careers of three artists, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Jacob Jordaens.

Flemish art was heavily influenced by Italian art and through the work of Rubens, who after eight years in Italy, returned to Antwerp in 1608. Flemish painters were integral to Ruben's workshop, either as specialists in landscape or still life, such as Lucas van Uden and Jan Brueghel or as assistants such as the young van Dyck. Rubens's artistic abilities shone in the fields of portraiture and landscape.

Oil sketches and portraits on paper were a working practice of Rubens and his workshop and offer an intriguing insight into the workings of the artist and the times. Often sitters were shared amongst the various workshops yet were still recognisable as opposed to formula painting.

This painting shares a resemblance to Nicholas Rubens, son of Peter Paul Rubens, a recognisable sitter in a number of his works. Further investigation into the painting is currently being undertaken, whilst the work is for sale.