Portrait of an Unknown Man, called 'Henri duc de Guise'

On display in:

Exhibition Room

Order image © All images subject to copyright

style of

Pourbus The Elder, Frans (b.c 1545, d.1581)

previously attributed to Holbein the Younger (b.c 1497, d.1543)
previously attributed to Frans Pourbus The Elder (b.c 1545, d.1581)

Date

1582

Place of production

  • Flanders, Belgium

Medium

  • oil on panel

Type of object

  • paintings

Accession number

8077

Portrait on wood of an unknown man called the Duc de Guise. The sitter wears a triple chain, from which hang two medals, one with a bust of Christ, the other a portrait - perhaps of the sitter. He wears a tall black hat with a short brim decorated with gold studs and a feather; a stiff ruff; a grey-blue jacket and a black overcoat with a high-collar over his shoulders. He holds a pair of beige gloves in his right hand. He has a ginger beard. He sits before a green curtain, with a pelmet above trimmed with gold. The curtain is pulled aside on the left to reveal a stone wall and the inscription.

Probably by a minor Flemish painter, this portrait was once thought to show Henri, duc de Guise, an important figure in the French Wars of Religion. However, the facial shape is quite different to other portraits of Henri. The inscription at upper left appears to have been partially erased and may have once provided a clue as to the sitter's real identity.

Commentary

The nobleman wears a triple chain, from which hang two medals, one with a bust of Christ, the other a portrait - perhaps of the sitter or of his patron. The style of the portrait has suggested past attributions of the schools of Holbein or Pourbus. The green curtain adds a dynamism to the composition reminiscent of Hans Holbein the Younger's portraits rather than to the plainer settings preferred by Pourbus. The artist has paid careful attention to the metal details of the clothing.

During the 19th-century, the work was owned by Frederick William Cosens, a wealthy and cultured sherry importer. He collected works by modern paintings as well as a large collection of books, including by Charles Dickens.

Phillippa Plock, 2012

Physical description

Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)

407 x 323
398 x 315 - sight

Signature & date

dated upper left: ANNO DOMINI / 158Z

Marks

502 C
9 E
Stamp
on verso, stencil

Inscriptions

220
May 17/90
Inscription
on verso, chalk (identifying Cosens sale)

Labels

OIL PAINTING
NO 42
On arch No 1
Corridor
Duke de Guise
Balafré
School of Holbein
Label
on verso, label

Duke de Guise
Label
on verso, label

Henry of Lorraine Duke of Guise
-Balafré- Born 1550
assassinated 1588
Compared with the other portraits
of the "Guises" there appears
a great family likeness.
Vide. Castle Howard collection
by Lord Ronald Gower. 1875.

If the Portrait in the Earl Spencers
collection by Pourbus be authentic
then this cannot be a portrait of Balafré
Label
on verso, handwritten label, the second part in a different hand

...5
Label
on verso, on stretcher, remains of label with blue border

Language

Latin

History

Provenance

  • Owned by Frederick William Cosens (b.1819, d.1889) acquired by Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922) at the Cosens sale, 19 May 1890, lot 220, as 'Henri, Duc de Guise'; inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by The Treasury Solicitor in lieu of taxes on the Estate of Mr James de Rothschild in 1963; given to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1990.

Collection

  • Waddesdon (National Trust)
  • Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990
Bibliography

Bibliography

  • Ellis Waterhouse, Anthony Blunt; Paintings: The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre, The National Trust; 1967; p. 198, cat. no. 86
Other details

Subject person

  • Henri I, Duc de Guise, Previous identification