Justus Sustermans

Justus Sustermans Portrait of a bearded man with a pink silk sash Oil on canvas (relined). 49 x 38 cm. Expertise Prof. Jan de Maere, Rambrouch, 27.5.2022. Provenance Belgian private collection. According to Jan de Maere, the present portrait of an unknown bearded man is an early work by the artist created in Italy. The influence of Frans II Pourbus, with whom Sustermans spent three years in Paris (1616-19) before moving to Florence, is still noticeable. There is a close stylistic affinity with van Dyck's Genoese portraits. Sustermans worked with van Dyck in Florence in 1624. The painting can therefore probably be dated to around 1624/25, a date that also corresponds with the fashionable French clothing. The unknown man is probably an Italian nobleman of high rank, as indicated by the precious pink silk sash. The Flemish painter Justus Sustermans is best known for his portraits of members of the Medici family, for whom he was court painter in Florence. Trained by Frans Pourbus the Younger, the Antwerp native combined Nordic and Italian stylistic elements in his portraits. During his lifetime, he was considered one of the best painters in Italy.