The three-quarter length portrait of a dashing gentleman by the name of J.Wante, the whole of good size, the sitter probably in his early forties and being clean shaven with a good head of dark hair glancing sideways and in a suit and tie, painted in oils on canvas to an olive ground, shown with his arms crossed, the work being signed and in its original frame, and surviving from the second quarter of twentieth century Europe.
Unknown.
As with the ‘selfie’ today, portraits were also a chance for more self-conscious sitters to be depicted in the latest fashions. In the eighteenth century, the upper classes entered a new era of prosperity. No longer the preserve of royalty, commissioned portraits, of oneself or one’s ancestors, became a coveted symbol of wealth and status which continued even more so in the nineteenth century. The portraits took pride of place in the home or were given to others as gifts.
A very intense and impactful painting at a time of great change and one that will officially be an antique in a decade.
The picture remains in original condition with no over-painting and no damages to note. The paper label to the reverse tells us the artist’s name again and that the picture was painted in Bruges. The sitters name and date is also daubed to the back; ‘J.Wante, 1931.’
By appointment only.
