Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a black costume and fur-trimmed coat, a gold chain with a pendant of Emperor Valentinian I, a letter in his left hand, his hands resting upon a wooden ledge with a twig of rosemary, a violet and a stock-gilliflower

Details

Hermann tom Ring (Munster, 1520/1-1595/97)
Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a black costume and fur-trimmed coat, a gold chain with a pendant of Emperor Valentinian I, a letter in his left hand, his hands resting upon a wooden ledge with a twig of rosemary, a violet and a stock-gilliflower
signed with monogram and dated '15OM51' (OM linked, lower centre) and inscribed 'PVLVIS ET VMBRA SVMVS' (upper centre)
oil on panel
66.8 x 46.1 cm.

Provenance

Given to the Rijksdienst voor Beeldende Kunst for safe-keeping by the parents of the present owner, 1940.
Instituut Collectie Nederland, inv. no. C397.
Restituted to the present owner in 2003.

Literature

P. Pieper, 'Ein Muttergottesbild von Hermann tom Ring', Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, Nuremberg, 1964, p. 68, illustrated.

Exhibited

Maastricht, Bonnefantenmuseum, on long-term loan from the Rijksdienst voor Beeldende Kunst (subsequently Instituut Collectie Nederland).
Munster, Westfälischen Landesmuseums für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Die Maler tom Ring, 1 September-10 November 1996, I, p. 95, II, pp. 444-5, no. 103, p. 554, no. 36, illustrated.

Special notice

Christie's charges a Buyer's premium calculated at 23.205% of the hammer price for each lot with a value up to €110,000. If the hammer price of a lot exceeds €110,000 then the premium for the lot is calculated at 23.205% of the first €110,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of €110,000. Buyer's Premium is calculated on this basis for each lot individually.

Lot Essay

Like his father, Ludger tom Ring I (1496-1547), Hermann is said to have trained and worked as a journeyman in the northern Netherlands. After 1544, Tom Ring placed his art entirely at the service of his native city, Munster.

Tom Ring's portraits of the Wesphalian nobility are quite striking, despite the static poses of his sitters and the artist's concentration on his subjects' heads and hands.

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