Cornelis de Vos (Hulst c.1585-1651 Antwerp)

Cornelis de Vos is considered one of the most important portrait painters of the 17th century in Antwerp, but he was also a prolific painter of history pieces. In fact, as Dr Katlijne van der Stighelen and Dr Hans Vlieghe point out (op. cit., p. 36), after circa 1635 De Vos must have realized there was a growing market for his historien to which he started catering more and more. A greater diversity in subject matter can be detected and his portrait production declined after this date. Most of Cornelis de Vos' compositions are based on Rubens' work and this is also the case with the present picture. A lost painting by Rubens with the same composition and subject, which is known through a copy in a private collection in Geneva, was De Vos' point of departure (op. cit., p. 39). Van der Stighelen and Vlieghe date this picture to 1631-5.