Circle of Jan van Scorel, Dutch 1495-1562- Portrait of a young man, half-length, possibly a Reformer; oil on panel, cradled, 57.5 x 44.2 cm. Inscription on the frame reads: 'HÆC ERAT VNDENA FACIES TRIETERIDE VITAE, 1545 / QVOD SVPEREST AEVI...

Circle of Jan van Scorel,

Dutch 1495-1562-

Portrait of a young man, half-length, possibly a Reformer;

oil on panel, cradled, 57.5 x 44.2 cm.

Inscription on the frame reads: 'HÆC ERAT VNDENA FACIES TRIETERIDE VITAE, 1545 / QVOD SVPEREST AEVI TVREGE CHRISTE MEI.' (This was the face of eleven times three years of life, 1545 / What remains of my life, Christ, thou rule.)

Provenance:
Wardour Street dealer, London, 1856.;
Where purchased by Sir John Hay Williams (1794-1859), 2nd Baronet of Bodelwyddan, and of Rhianva, Anglesey.;
By descent to the present owner.

Literature:
Catalogue of Pictures, Rhianva, pp.16-17, which mentions the 1856 Wardour Street provenance.;
Lady Sarah (wife of Sir John Hay Williams), 'Memoranda Concerning Rhianva for the use of our children', 1859, pp.27-28.

Note: The condition and later interventions upon the present work preclude a definitive reading of its authorship, and it is plausible that van Scorel himself, or his workshop, had a hand in its execution.

The date of birth of the subject is given in the somewhat enigmatic inscription in Latin, from which one deduces that the subject was aged 33, and was therefore born in 1512. He is a middle-aged auburn-haired man, with care-worn countenance. Situated behind him is a building, apparently a University, in which a column and church form conspicuous objects. In the distance there is a sea-shore, or lake, with a succession of high headlands. For two similar portraits by Van Scorel, see those at Christ Church, University of Oxford (nos JBS235 and JBS236).

Lady Sarah’s Rhianva Memoranda (see literature) was continued latterly by her daughter Margaret, and in a 1916 entry, we read of the restoration of the present work by a ‘Mr. Thomas Tanner’: ‘Later Mr. Lionel Cust and Sybil (nee Lyttleton) were with us. It was a memorable visit to me as Mr. Cust, who is a keen art-critic and keeper of the King’s pictures’ made some comments on some of the pictures at Rhianva, one of which is ‘German Reformer This picture Mr. Cust greatly admired, but it was badly in need of attention, the panel it was painted on was cracking & the paint in danger of peeling off. By Mr. Cust’s advice it was sent to Mr. Thomas Tanner, 19 Easy Row, Birmingham, who restored it beautifully.’
Held in a wooden frame with some minor losses and general wear and tear but which is generally in good condition. The panel is secure in the frame and sits well. It has been professionally cradled. The paint surface is stable on the support. A vertical split down the length of the panel (centre right). Evidence of abrasion around the edges of the panel from contact with frame. The natural inconsistencies of the wooden panel show. Dirty, discoloured and uneven varnish overall. Some bloom in the varnish. Evidence of bituminous paint/ paint shrinkage in some areas of the darks, especially in the sitter’s cap and in the right side of his coat (sitter’s left). Evidence of a few minor old losses which have been retouched (for example in the sitter’s hands). Some other visible, though unobtrusive retouching. Further minor abrasions and scratches throughout. Marks and general surface dirt throughout. Under UV lamp, evidence of extensive retouching throughout (see images).