Portrait of a Man

Cornelis de Vos’s portrait of a nobleman was long attributed to Rubens. De Vos did in fact work for Rubens, who ran a large workshop, and adopted the master’s style of composition. Brother-in-law of Frans Snyders (1579–1657) and his teacher Simon de Vos (1603–1676), he liked to depict his figures as character portraits. In keeping with the Spanish fashion, the nobleman is presented in front of his coat of arms, dressed in black with a white ruff. The prestige motifs – red drapery, patterned wallpaper and carved chair-back – bespeak his prosperity.

DUCKE Astrid: Vos Cornelis de, Portrait of a Man, in: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, p. 84