Head of an Old Woman, with a Ruff and a Cap
About this artwork
The woman’s physiognomy and facial expression can be found in four other studies of an old lady’s head, all attributed to Jordaens. The drawing entered the collection with an attribution to the Dutch School, due to an inscription on the verso bearing the name of the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617). The discovery of Jordaens’s name on the verso, however, supports an attribution to him. It has been suggested that the sitter is Jordaens’s mother-in-law, but this has not been widely accepted. The realistic way in which the woman is depicted makes it likely that Jordaens drew this model from life.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Jacob Jordaens (1593 - 1678) Flemish
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title:Head of an Old Woman, with a Ruff and a Cap
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date created:About 1625 - 1640
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materials:Black and white chalk on paper
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measurements:30.10 x 19.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:David Laing Bequest to the Royal Scottish Academy transferred 1910
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accession number:D 1683
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gallery:
Jacob Jordaens
Jacob Jordaens
After Rubens’s death in 1640, Jordaens succeeded him as the leading artist in Antwerp. Jordaens had collaborated with Rubens as an independent assistant on several projects, and they shared the same master in Antwerp, Adam van Noort. Jordaens married Van Noort’s daughter in 1616. His paintings...