Portrait of Jacobus Moretus
1633
Jacobus Moretus, heir to a legendary Antwerp printing empire, stares out with an almost startled intensity in this 1633 masterpiece by Peter Paul Rubens. Clutching a folded letter or book, he's dressed in the somber black and crisp white ruff typical of the era's intellectual elite. Rubens, a close friend of the family, captured the texture of Moretus's graying beard and receding hairline with incredible realism against a moody, dark background. Today, this striking portrait hangs in the Plantin-Moretus Museum, the historic home and printing house where the Moretus family actually lived and worked.
- Technique
- Oil painting
Location: Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp
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