Provenance
Estate of Marion Louise Nichols, Cambridge, Massachusetts;[1] private collection, Boston, from 1975; consigned by (Michael Filades, Boston) to (Hoogsteder-Naumann, Ltd., New York);[2] sold 6 June 1986 to George M. [1932-2001] and Linda H. Kaufman, Norfolk; transferred 31 August 2005 to the Kaufman Americana Foundation; gift (partial and promised) 2006 to NGA.
[1] According to information provided by Otto Naumann to the Kaufmans (copy in NGA curatorial files), Marion Louise Nichols inherited the painting from her father, who presumably brought it to the United States in the early twentieth century.
[2] Otto Nauman, e-mail to Jennifer Henel, 30 August 2011, in NGA curatorial files.
Accession Number
2006.172.1
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 53.5 x 46.3 cm (21 1/16 x 18 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of George M. and Linda H. Kaufman
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Panel Painting Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Jan Lievens (1607-1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, a childhood friend and early colleague of Rembrandt in Leiden, known for the Rembrandt-like chiaroscuro of his early work and the more international manner of his later career. Bearded Man with a Beret from c. 1630 depicts an old man in the Rembrandt-like chiaroscuro that distinguishes Lievens's early work from the more international manner of his later career. The c. 1630 date places this in the period when Lievens was still working in the Rembrandt-like manner that he had developed during their years together in Leiden, before his encounter with the international manner of van Dyck would transform his style.
Cultural Impact
Bearded Man with a Beret is important in Lievens's early development because it demonstrates the Rembrandt-like chiaroscuro that distinguishes his Leiden period from the more international manner of his later career. The c. 1630 painting shows Lievens still working in the manner that he shared with Rembrandt during their years together in Leiden, before their styles diverged and Lievens moved toward the more international manner that van Dyck would influence.
Why It Matters
Bearded Man with a Beret is Lievens's Rembrandt-like Leiden period: an old man rendered in the chiaroscuro that he shared with Rembrandt during their years together in Leiden. The c. 1630 painting shows the manner that Lievens and Rembrandt developed together before their styles diverged and Lievens moved toward van Dyck's more international manner.
