Jan Baptiste Lodewijk Maes (1794-1856)
| Artist Name | Jan Baptiste Lodewijk Maes (1794-1856) |
|---|---|
| Title | Portrait of a Harpist |
| Description | This charming Belgian Old Master musical portrait oil painting is by noted artist Jan Baptiste Lodewijk Maes. Painted in 1820 and signed and dated it is a half length portrait of a beautiful young lady stood beside a harp. She is wearing a short sleeve black dress with lace around the square neck line and her dark hair is up and partly covered by a lace shawl. She is holding a decorative orange and silver cloth cover to reveal her harp and, head tilted, is gazing at the artist/viewer. Her jewellery detail has been perfectly rendered by the artist and the realist palette is within the period of Ingres and David. The sitter is clearly a keen harpist and is wanting to display this in her portrait and looks dressed to play. Maes has perfectly captured the perspective of the harp and strings and there is some lovely detail in her facial features. Her skin is almost glowing against the darker background and the cloth cover gives a lovely pop of colour. This is a charming signed and dated Belgian Old Master oil painting of a harpist at her harp and an excellent example of Maes' work. Signed, dated and inscribed J B L MAES PT/GAND 1820 lower right. |
| Provenance | Christies' stamp verso. Lot 328 28.1.80. |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Size | 31 x 36 inches |
| Frame | House in an ornate frame, 43 inches by 38 inches and in good condition. |
| Condition | Good condition. |
| Biography | Jan Baptist Lodewyck Maes (30 September 1794- 7 April 1856) was a Belgian genre painter. Maes studied at the Academy of Ghent. He exhibited for the first time in 1810 at the fair of this city. He won the prizes of all the competitions in which he participated, and in 1820 received a scholarship from the city of Ghent. Thanks to the Belgian Rome Prize he received in 1821, he first visited Paris together with Frans Vervloet (1795–1872) and then went on to Italy. In 1822 he copied works by old masters in the Uffizi Museum. In 1824 he settled in Rome. In 1827 he married the daughter of the engraver Bartolomeo Canini. To Italianize his name, he added the surname of his wife Canini to his surname Maes. The couple had two sons: Jacques-Jean and Lieven-Antoon. The first, Jacques-Jean called Giacomo, born in 1828, became a painter like his father. Maes kept in touch with his hometown and regularly sent works to Belgian salons. He was a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. |
| Price | £12000 |
