Terms and conditions of use
Old man seated facing right, left hand pointing in a rhetorical gesture
(c. 1638)
Medium
pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk on blue paper; laid down
Measurements
25.0 × 18.2 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1923
Gallery location
17th Century & Flemish Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Govaert Flinck entered Rembrandt’s studio in Amsterdam sometime in the 1630s and became one of his most accomplished followers. Flinck’s works were even sometimes mistaken for the master’s own. This drawing dates from the early years of Flinck’s career, when Rembrandt’s influence was strongest and before he developed his own more independent style in the 1640s. The strong pen lines and elaborate hatching in this single-figure study reflect the impact of Rembrandt’s draughtsmanship. The drawing’s subject is unknown but it has been connected by some commentators with another drawing and painting by Flinck of the mid 1630s that shows Isaac blessing Jacob.
Artwork Details
Catalogue/s Raisonné
Sumowski, vol. 4, no. 948x
Accession Number
1278.784-3
Department
International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest
Subjects (general)
Human Figures
Subjects (specific)
gesture line drawings (drawings) men (male humans) old age profiles (figures) rhetoric (discipline) seated figures
Movements
Baroque