Lot Essay
The exhibition Forgotten Masters: Pieter Pourbus and Bruges Painting from 1525 to 1625, held at the Groenigemuseum in Bruges in 2017 (catalogue ed. Anne van Oosterwijk), marked the rediscovery of Gillis Claeissens, a talented and singular portraitist. The name of this painter, a member of an important family of Bruges artists, son of Pieter I Claeissens and brother of Antonius and Pieter II, had long been well known to researchers. Gillis first worked in Bruges and was elected to the painters’ guild council several times before becoming official painter to Alexander Farnese between 1589 and 1592 and to the Archdukes Albert and Isabella in Brussels from 1596. However, it was not until 2007 that Brecht Dewilde was able to attribute a first work to Gillis – four Wings from the Triptych of Claeys van de Kerchove and Family (Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum) – and it was not until 2015 that his name was associated with certainty with a group of beautifully executed portraits, some monogrammed GEC (‘Gillis Egidius Claeissens’).
Specialising mainly in small portraits – around 35 x 25 cm – Gillis Claeissens was used to neutral backgrounds, ostentatious and dignified poses, three-quarter-lengths to show hands and rich clothes. He excelled in the meticulous rendering of ornaments, slashings, embroidery, braids, jewellery and weapons. Certain features are typical to the artist: the square fingers outlined in black, the translucent irises illuminated by an oblique light, the folds on the ruffs and cuffs treated in two stages – a uniform white area, then a wavy line (visible to the naked eye, this way of painting the ruffs is even more obvious in the infrared imaging). Claeissens’ sitters sometimes pose with their hands resting on tables covered in green cloth, which are strangely and awkwardly set in space. With its more imposing format, this painting can be compared with the Portrait of Abbot Robert Holman dated 1571 (Bruges, Grootsmeniarie) and more particularly with an Unknown Lady with a Pomander (Private collection, Antwerp, exh. cat. Bruges 2019, no. 45).
All these characteristics are to be found in this portrait of an unknown man, who probably belonged to the nobility of the Habsburg Empire, perhaps a Spaniard from the court of Brussels. The man wears a white silk buttoned doublet, a slashed, yellow-lined black jerkin and raspberry red upper hose embellished with trimmings. The shape of the peascod belly dates from the second half of the 1570s. His eyes are black and his short-cropped hair is greying, but unfortunately there is nothing to identify him, neither the Order's collar nor the coat-of-arms.
Infrared reflectography has been conducted by Maximiliaan P. J. Martens of Ghent University (illustrated and available upon request).
We are grateful to Dr. Alexandra Zvereva for compiling this catalogue entry. The painting will be included in the catalogue raisonné of the artist, currently in preparation.