Oil Painting, 'Portrait of a Man in a Painted Oval', Manner of Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen, ca. late 1620s-1630s

Portrait bust of a young man in a sombre black silk doublet and white ruff against a dark ground in a painted trompe l'oeil oval frame.

Bequeathed by John Jones

According to a label on the back, this work was formerly owned by Prince Rupert (1619-1682) who was born in Prague, grew up in the Netherlands and later fought in England with Charles I's army in the English Civil War. A second inscription on the label reads 'Earl of Montrose' who, in this period, was James Graham, the 5th Earl of Montrose and 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612-1650) (became Marquess of Montrose in 1644), and would be in his late teens early twenties when this was painted. The work was acquired together with a pendant (497-1882) which contains a similar hand-written label inscribed ''No. 50 Portrait geschilderd in England by Cornelius Jansens van de collection Prins Rupert Lady Aubigne[?] .. .'.

Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882

[John Jones 1800-1882]
Ref : Parkinson, Ronald, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860. Victoria & Albert Museum, HMSO, London, 1990. p.xix-xx
John Jones (1800-1882) was first in business as a tailor and army clothier in London 1825, and opened a branch in Dublin 1840. Often visited Ireland, travelled to Europe and particularly France. He retired in 1850, but retained an interest in his firm. Lived quietly at 95 Piccadilly from 1865 to his death in January 1882. After the Marquess of Hertford and his son Sir Richard Wallace, Jones was the principal collector in Britain of French 18th century fine and decorative arts. Jones bequeathed an important collection of French 18th century furniture and porcelain to the V&A, and among the British watercolours and oil paintings he bequeathed to the V&A are subjects which reflect his interest in France.

See also South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks. The Jones Collection. With Portrait and Woodcuts. Published for the Committee of Council on Education by Chapman and Hall, Limited, 11, Henrietta Street. 1884.
Chapter I. Mr. John Jones. pp.1-7.
Chapter II. No.95, Piccadilly. pp.8-44. This gives a room-by-room guide to the contents of John Jones' house at No.95, Piccadilly.
Chapter VI. ..... Pictures,... and other things, p.138, "The pictures which are included in the Jones bequest are, with scarcely a single exception, valuable and good; and many of them excellent works of the artists. Mr. Jones was well pleased if he could collect enough pictures to ornament the walls of his rooms, and which would do no discredit to the extraordinary furniture and other things with which his house was filled."

Historical significance: Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen was a Dutch portrait painter, born to Dutch parents in London. He was active in England from around 1618 to 1643. Throughout the 1620s Johnson produced numerous portraits of gentry, professional, and court sitters, including Charles II, James II and Mary, Princess of Orange. However, the outbreak of civil wars in 1643 prompted him to leave England. He moved to Middelburg in the Netherlands and between 1646 and 1652 lived in Amsterdam, before settling in Utrecht. Most of his original works during his London period are portraits of people in the higher, but not the highest, social circles. The majority of these portraits are busts, simple in composition and ably reproducing the sitters’ features. Some are set in a trompe l’oeil oval, painted to imitate a stone niche such as the Portrait of an unknown man, formerly known as Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland of 1627 now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1344). Many of these bust portraits are in English public, and particularly private, collections, for example the portrait of Sir Thomas Hanmer (1631; Cardiff, N. Mus.) and the two small pendants Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Woman (c. 1629; London, Tate). The hand written label on the back suggests that this portrait represents the 'Earl of Montrose' who, in this period, was James Graham, the 5th Earl of Montrose and 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612-1650). The Earl would have been in his late teens early twenties when this was painted. A portrait of the Earl, in armour, probablly painted in the 1640s (?) by Willem van Honthorst, is preserved in the collection of The National Galleries of Scotland (PG 998) and his features do not particularly resemble those of the sitter in 496-1882. The work was acquired together with a pendant (497-1882) which contains a similar hand-written label inscribed ''No. 50 Portrait geschilderd in England by Cornelius Jansens van de collection Prins Rupert Lady Aubigne[?] .. .'.

The sitter in this portrait wears a costume and short hairstyle associated with the first half of the 17th century in the Netherlands which was ruled at the time by a prosperous bourgeoisie, a body of influential and pious merchants and magistrates known as ‘regents’. They wore a distinctive costume of conservative cut and black in hue. The most striking thing about Dutch costume in the first half of the seventeenth century is the persistence of the ruff.

The attribution to Cornelius Jonson, or Janssen, was still retained in 1893 Catalogue but was abandoned by Long's Catalogue of the Jones Collection. (1923). While 496-1882 does not have the refinement or softness of Janssen's portraits, it does resemble the Portrait of an unknown man, formerly known as Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1344) in its painted oval frame, 3/4 length pose, somber black clothing with starched white ruff and dark background.

Portrait bust of a young man in a sombre black silk doublet and white ruff against a dark ground in a painted trompe l'oeil oval frame acquired together with its pendant portrait of a lady (497-1882). Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen was a Dutch portrait painter, born to Dutch parents in London. He was active in England from around 1618 to 1643. Throughout the 1620s Johnson produced numerous portraits of gentry, professional, and court sitters, including Charles II, James II and Mary, Princess of Orange. However, the outbreak of civil wars in 1643 prompted him to leave England. He moved to Middelburg in the Netherlands and between 1646 and 1652 lived in Amsterdam, before settling in Utrecht. Most of his original works during his London period are portraits of people in the higher, but not the highest, social circles. The majority of these portraits are busts, simple in composition and ably reproducing the sitters’ features. Some are set in a trompe l’oeil oval, painted to imitate a stone niche such as the Portrait of an unknown man, formerly known as Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland of 1627 now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1344).

496-1882