Rubens’ Hidden Portrait: Art Dealer Uncovers Two Faces in One baroque Study
A remarkable discovery in the art world reveals a hidden portrait within a study attributed to Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, challenging conventional perceptions of the artist’s process and captivating experts. A Brussels-based art dealer acquired the work for under €100,000, a fraction of the price recent rubens studies have commanded.
Three years ago, former gallerist Klaas Muller stumbled upon a seemingly unassuming study at an online auction hosted by a “lesser-known auction house in northern Europe,” as he described it, intentionally withholding the auction house’s identity to avoid future bidding wars. Advertised as an anonymous work from the “Flemish school,” the piece initially piqued Muller’s interest due to its striking resemblance to Rubens’ style.
“I wasn’t sure it was a Rubens, I just knew it was very Rubens-esque, so it was still a gamble,” Muller, a self-described devotee of the 16th-century artist and diplomat, told the Guardian. “I have a library of books about him at home and look at them most evenings,” he admitted, characterizing his passion as “a bit of an addiction.”
The painting, a study of an elderly man with a prominent beard, held a secret. Upon closer inspection, and particularly when viewed from different angles, the silhouette of a woman’s head emerges from within the beard’s contours – a captivating optical illusion. The study was executed on a sheet of paper that had been reused, with the woman’s portrait predating the depiction of the bearded man.
Muller’s initial confidence grew when the artwork arrived at his home. “It was very dirty, but the varnish had protected the painting very well and I could see that it was of extremely high quality,” he recalled. However, definitive confirmation came after several months of scrutiny by Ben van Beneden, a former director of the Rubens House.
“I think it’s very likely,” van Beneden stated, cautiously acknowledging the painting’s authenticity. “You have to be cautious as you are dealing with a painting that wasn’t made for the market but as a working material.But the craftsmanship is outstanding – it has a very lifelike quality.”
The significance of the discovery extends beyond the unveiling of a hidden portrait. The elderly man depicted in the study is a recurring figure in Rubens’ oeuvre, appearing in several of his most celebrated works. As noted by the Belgian newspaper De Standaard, which first reported the discovery, the figure is “omnipresent and versatile.” he is identifiable as Saint Amandus in The Raising of the Cross, an altarpiece in Antwerp Cathedral, and as the red-cloaked King Melchior in The Adoration of the Magi, housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid. He even appears as a Pharisee in the Tribute Money, currently displayed at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.
Rubens, inspired by Italian masters, routinely created studies of individual physiognomies to serve as models for larger compositions.It is indeed believed he developed a prototype study of the old man’s head, which has as been lost. Van Beneden suggests that Muller’s acquisition may, actually, be that lost prototype.
The process behind the dual portrait was likely pragmatic rather than intentionally deceptive. Muller believes Rubens simply reused a sheet of paper and traced over the existing image of the woman, creating the illusion as a byproduct of his artistic practice.
The painting currently resides in Muller’s private collection and is scheduled to be exhibited at the Brafa art fair in Brussels on January 25th. Muller hopes to secure a long-term loan for the artwork,believing it deserves a wider public audience.Even as a study, he argues, its unique qualities and historical significance warrant its display in a museum setting.
