Flemish

Eleven finely dressed men inspect and discuss the contents of a large room packed with works of art, astronomical instruments and antiques. Their distinctive features suggest that these might be portraits of known artists, connoisseurs, collectors and art dealers – the ‘cognoscenti’ of the painti...

We don't know who the boy in the portrait is, or who painted it. It was once thought to have been the work of François Duchastel, a Flemish painter living in Ghent, but the attribution is now considered uncertain. From his ornate, costly costume, fashionable in the Southern Netherlands in the 166...

This painting was bequeathed to the National Gallery in 1900 but we have no record of earlier owners, nor of the name of the sitter or artist, nor of the date. It’s hard even to be sure where it was made. Until the 1950s it was thought to be Dutch, but now it’s believed that the style of painting...

The composition derives from a print of 1624 by Paulus Pontius, made after a portrait of the same date by Rubens of Prince Vladislav Sigismond, later King of Poland. We can tell that the artist has used the print as a source because some of the details – as on the hilt of the sword – are slightly...

An unidentified young man looks out at us with a direct gaze. Painted by an unknown artist, he is shown leaning against a stone archway covered with a swathe of white satin curtain. His expensive lace collar and cuffs are well displayed. His youth is emphasised by his sparse moustache and wisp of...

This half-length portrait is on paper later attached to an oak panel. A young man wearing a slight, almost boyish moustache looks towards the viewer, his determined expression emphasised by his pose, with his right hand raised to his chest and his left resting on his hip. He is dressed in a black...

Although this picture has been given the title of Portrait of an Elderly Woman, the unknown artist has given the sitter few signs of age. She is unwrinkled, her small mouth is full and her eyes are clear. Her hair is dark, dressed in a plain but natural style, hanging either side of her face.Like...