Justus Sustermans
Portrait of a Nobleman
1629
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Justus Sustermans
Portrait of a Nobleman
1629
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 80 x 44 in. (203.3 x 111.8 cm.)
Credit Line
The Jacob Epstein Collection
Object Number
1951.101
Although born in Antwerp, Sustermans worked mainly in Florence, where he served as court painter to the Medici family for over fifty years. During his lifetime, he was considered the foremost portraitist in Italy, equal to his Flemish contemporaries, Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens. Sustermans’ masterful brushwork shows that this is a mature work, executed in about 1630 when his style became more painterly in response to his growing interest in Venetian Renaissance art.
Long identified as the young Cardinal Gian Carlo de Medici, second son of Cosimo II, the sitter bears no resemblance to him or to any other known images of members of the Medici family.
The Baltimore Museum of Art on deposit; The Baltimore Museum of Art on extended loan, 1929-1951; the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, by bequest, 1945; Jacob Epstein, Baltimore, MD, by purchase, 1929; M. Knoedler & Co., New York, by purchase from Christie's, London, May 1928; Collection Sir George Holford, Dorchester House, London.
Royal Academy, London, 'Old Masters,' Winter 1908, no. 128.
Burlington House, London, 'Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art,' 1927-1928, no. 148.
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 'Naval and Military Portraits,' April 1932, no. 16. World's Fair, Chicago, 'Century of Progress,' 1934, no. 110, pl. 21.
World's Fair, New York, 'Masterpieces of Art,' 1939.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'A Century of Baltimore Collecting,' June 6-September 1, 1941, p. 76.
Wildenstein & Co., New York, 'The Italian Heritage,' May 17-August 29, 1967.
Joan Nissman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 'Baroque Art in Florence from American Collections,' April 16-June 15, 1969, no. 34, pl. 16, pp. 39-40.
Burlington House, London, 'Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art,' 1927-1928, no. 148.
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 'Naval and Military Portraits,' April 1932, no. 16. World's Fair, Chicago, 'Century of Progress,' 1934, no. 110, pl. 21.
World's Fair, New York, 'Masterpieces of Art,' 1939.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, 'A Century of Baltimore Collecting,' June 6-September 1, 1941, p. 76.
Wildenstein & Co., New York, 'The Italian Heritage,' May 17-August 29, 1967.
Joan Nissman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 'Baroque Art in Florence from American Collections,' April 16-June 15, 1969, no. 34, pl. 16, pp. 39-40.
Pierre Bautier, 'Juste Suttermans, peintre des Medicis,' Brussels & Paris, 1912, p. 32, no. 132.
Robert Benson, 'The Holford Collection, Dorchester House,' Oxford, 1927, pl. 110, no. 122.
Martin Conway, 'Flemish and Belgian Art Memorial Volume,' 1927, p. 148.
Paul Lambotte, 'Flemish Painting before the 18th Century.'
Paul Lambotte, 'Flemish and Belgian Art, 1300-1900,' Apollo Press, 1927, no. 118.
William Gibson, 'The Holford Collection,' 'Apollo,' May 1928, p. 203.
E. Michel, 'Flemish Painting in the XVIIth Century,' Paris, 1939, p. 4. BMA, 'A Picture Book,' 1955, p. 25.
K. R. Greenfield, 'The Museum: Its First Half Century,' 'Annual I,' BMA, 1966, p. 27.
Anne Sutherland Harris, 'Florentine Sunset,' 'Art News,' May 1969, p. 35.
Inscribed: None
On View at the BMA
