Portrait Of Pieter Paul Rubens, 7th–8th Century

Title: Portrait of Pieter Paul Rubens

Category: Venetian / Central Italian artist

Period: Late 17th – early 18th century

Medium: Oil on canvas

Painting dimensions: 70×53 cm

Dimensions with frame: 88×70.5 cm

Frame: Contemporary carved and gilded wood frame with floral motifs and corner cartouches

Historical-critical description

The work is a fine contemporary Baroque-era copy of the famous Self-Portrait by Pieter Paul Rubens, the original of which is housed in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence (which entered the Medici collections in 1683, either through purchase by Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici or as a gift to Grand Duke Cosimo III).

The painterly execution and the warm tones of the flesh tones evoke the style of a master active in the Veneto and central Italy between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a period when private collectors eagerly sought replicas of Medici masterpieces intended for travelers on the Grand Tour. The painting is set in a rich period frame, carved and gilded with gouache, in excellent condition.