22. Jan Lievens
(1607-1674)
Jacques Gaultier, Lutenist

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Lievens, Jacques Gaultier

Jacques Gaultier, Lutenist

Etching, ca. 1631-33, 255 x 203 mm., Bartsch 59, Dutuit 58 iii/iv, Hollstein 23 iii/v. Fine impression on thin laid paper, trimmed to the subject and lacking 5 mm. of the text area; flattened creases, a thin spot and a pinhole. Lievens shared a studio with Rembrandt from about 1626 to 1631 and the two collaborated and competed to the point where some of their works got confused. In the latter year, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and Lievens to London, where this portrait was certainly done. Gaultier, though born in France, was lutenist to the court in London for many years. Although the address of Lievens is lacking in this impression (it would have been in the missing 5 mm. at the bottom right), the presence still of the guidelines for the other letters, clearly visible here, suggest that this must still be a third state, the earliest with letters. A fine example of Lievens as a portraitist.