| A Young Archer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Govaert Flinck |
| Year | c. 1639–1640 |
| Medium | Oil on oak panel |
| Dimensions | 66.2 cm× 50.8 cm(26.1 in× 20.0 in) |
| Location | Wallace Collection |
A Young Archer is an oil painting, painted about 1640 by the Dutch Golden Age artist Govaert Flinck. The painting depicts a young black boy dressed as an archer. [1] The painting is in the collection of the Wallace Collection, in London, England. [1]
For many years the painting was believed to have been the work of Rembrandt, and was purchased as such by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, in 1848. [1] Flinck had studied under Rembrandt in 1631–32, and his style had become so closely associated with him that for many years a self portrait by Flinck in the National Gallery, London, was thought to have been a portrait of Rembrandt. [2] Flinck painted numerous works in the style of Rembrandt when there was a demand for his work in the 1630s and 1640s. [3] The true origin of the painting was discovered after it was cleaned in 1913, and the signature believed to be by Rembrandt turned out to have been falsely added later. [3] A signature beginning with the letter "f" was discovered. [3] The painting had been reattributed to Flinck by 1928. [3]
The style of the painting is known as a "tronie", meaning "a head, a face, or expression". Tronies were not portraits of named people but character studies of exotic figures. [2]
This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1915, who wrote: [4]
Two inscriptions for the portrait exist. The first, an engraving by Cornelis Visscher (c.1648) reads:
"Dus heft den Moor met pijl en Boogh / Den vyandt of het wilt in't oogh" (Thus lifts the Moor his bow and arrow / The enemy [or wildlife] to eye)
In the 1750 reproduction of Visscher's portrait, held at the British Museum and published by George Pulley of London, the caption below describes the archer as an American Indian, [6] replacing the word Moor for Indian, the words being interchangeable at the time: [7]
Thus Arm’d, the Indian with his Dart & Bow / Pursues with eager Eye, his Woodland Foe
Rembrandt also portrayed people of African origin, including black soldiers and figures in armour. [2] It is not known whether the boy was a model, in the army, or a huntsman of a Dutch country estate. [2] Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon wrote of the subject of A Young Archer in 2004 that
Whether the young man painted by Flinck was actually from the Sudan, or not, it seems likely that the painter intended to show him as a living embodiment of the proud, martial spirit of the Nubian race – a poignant contrast to his actual situation, as a first-generation African slave...The solemn, thoughtful humanity of Flinck's portrayal makes it unusual, among early Western European depictions of black Africans, suggesting at the very least a bond between the artist and the sitter. [3]
The 1750 reproduction of Visscher's portrait, published by George Pulley of London, describes the subject as an Indian, presumably of American origin. [8]
GovertTeuniszoon Flinck was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age.
Dirck Jansz Pesser was a Dutch brewer from Rotterdam, best known today for his portrait by Rembrandt. He was an important member of the Rotterdam Remonstrant community in the early 17th century.
Portrait of a Young Man with a Gold Chain is an oil painting usually attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt. Signed and dated 1635, it was traditionally regarded as a self-portrait, although contemporary criticism tends to challenge this hypothesis.
A Boy Bringing Bread is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is part of The Wallace Collection, on display at East Galleries II in London. The painting was likely painted soon after De Hooch's arrival in Amsterdam from Delft in the early 1660's.
Self-portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet is an oil painting attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt. It is signed and dated 1635. It was traditionally regarded as a Rembrandt self-portrait until 1968, when it was rejected on stylistic grounds in the Rembrandt catalogue raisonné by Horst Gerson. In 2013, art historian Ernst van de Wetering re-attributed the painting as an original Rembrandt. It is one of over 40 painted self-portraits by Rembrandt.
Old Man with a Gold Chain is a portrait by Rembrandt, painted around 1631 and now in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Flora or Saskia as Flora is a 1634 oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt, depicting his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh as the goddess Flora. It is held by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo, formerly known as Portrait of a Foreign Admiral or Portrait of a Dutch Admiral, is an oil painting portrait by Rembrandt signed and dated 1658. It is now in the collection of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and measures 107.4 cm by 87.0 cm.
Portrait of Jan Six is a 1654 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. Having been handed down many generations, via the direct descendants of the portrait's subject, Jan Six, the work remains in the Six Collection in Amsterdam.
The pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the occasion of the marriage of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. Formerly owned by the Rothschild family, they became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after both museums managed to contribute half of the purchase price of €160 million, a record for works by Rembrandt.
The Stone Bridge is a 1637 landscape painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Portrait of a Woman, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family is a 1632 oil-on-canvas portrait painting by Rembrandt. A depiction of a woman with an unusually large millstone collar, it is a pendant to Portrait of a Man, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family. Both portraits are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Portrait of a Man is a c. 1657 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It is an oil on canvas and is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Young Woman in a Pearl Necklace is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Willem Drost. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is part of the collection of Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.
Young Woman in a Pearl Necklace is an oil on canvas painting by an unknown painter, after a painting by the Dutch painter Willem Drost. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Portrait of a Young Woman with a Fan is a 1633 portrait painting by Rembrandt. It shows a woman holding a fan, pendant to Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Gold Chain is a 1634 portrait painted by Rembrandt. It shows a smiling woman with a triple lace collar. It is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Family Group in a Landscape is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, painted c. 1645-1648, and now in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Madrid.
Portrait of Petronella Buys (1610–1670) is a 1635 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It shows a young woman with a very large and impressive millstone collar. It is in a private collection.
Landscape with Arched Bridge is a circa 1637-1638 landscape painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.