Portrait of a Gentleman, bust-length, in black robes and white collar

Pieter Thijs became a master in Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1644 and from around 1647 worked for Archduke Leopold William in Brussels and the House of Orange in The Hague. He executed allegorical and mythological compositions for both courts and was also active as a portrait painter. Later in his career Thijs concentrated mainly on religious compositions for the Antwerp religious community but also painted mythological scenes and portraits for individuals and the art trade in Antwerp. From the the beginning of his career, Thijs was greatly influenced by the later work of van Dyck. This may be related to the fact that his early patrons were rulers whose taste was formed by van Dyck's refined courtly style.

We are grateful to Jan de Maere for suggesting the attribution to Pieter Thijs from a color transparency (written communication, 27 January 2006).