Bust of an oriental

Jan Lievens has been admirably summarised by Raymond J. Steiner, reviewing his National Gallery of Art exhibition, 'Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered' (2008-9):

'Jan Lievens had the misfortune of being born in the same town as and only one year apart from Rembrandt van Rijn who, as everyone knows, handily “took the field” in art historical terms and in no uncertain manner. Though a fellow-student in Pieter Lastman’s atelier — and, to some, equally if not more promising as a painter than Rembrandt — Lievens’s reputation and career not only hardly got off the ground, but seemed to simply become overshadowed as Rembrandt dominated the art world — back then, even as he does now.

'[Curator] Arthur Wheelock [Jr] judiciously explores the “whys” of Lievens’s apparent bad luck, citing the painter’s moving about (to England and other Netherlandish towns and cities) along with his propensity to change “directions” in his focus and work, among the most probable causes of his falling below the art/historical/critical radar. In all probability, Wheelock is spot on, since — in spite of his apparent inability to settle on a ‘signature’ style — even a cursory glance at Lievens’s work will reveal a master painter…so good, in fact, that some of his work had even been attributed to Rembrandt over the years. Justly, then, Wheelock uses the word “rediscovered” (rather than, ‘reconsidered’, say) in the title of his essay, for this is surely a case where a major talent has been carelessly pushed into the background.'

Lievens and Rembrandt worked very closely together in Leiden in the late 1620s and early 1630s, and somewhat like Braque and Picasso nearly 300 years later, it is not always easy to tell their work apart. This etching dates from that period. It clearly shows Lievens' awareness of Leonardo da Vinci's studies of the human physiognomy in all its grotesqueness. The multi-chinned model almost certainly was not the owner of this fine fur coat, feathered turban and still less collar of the Golden Fleece - all of which would have belonged to Lievens or his more famous flatmate and served as studio props. The sitter was probably a studio model and not necessarily even 'Oriental'; that said, his expression and air are highly memorable.

See:

Matthew Gurewitsch, 'Jan Lievens: Out of Rembrandt's Shadow', http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/jan-lievens-out-of-rembrandts-shadow-52758214/

Raymond J. Steiner, 'Jan Lievens at the National Gallery of Art', http://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/reviews/Dec_08_Jan_Lievens/Jan_Lievens.Dec08.htm

Dr Mark Stocker    Curator, Historical International Art         July 2017