Peter Paul Rubens, 'Portrait of Susanna Lunden(?) ('Le Chapeau de Paille')', probably 1622-5
About the work
Overview
This is almost certainly a portrait of Susanna Lunden (1599–1643), daughter of the Antwerp merchant Daniel Fourment, an old friend and client of Rubens. The portrait was probably made soon after her marriage to Arnold Lunden.
It’s a highly distinctive painting – the sitter’s dark, oversized eyes and the exaggerated length of her neck, as well as the background of billowing cloud and the simple colour palette all contribute to its singular character. There is something too about how the sitter is presented to us – a sense of ambiguity, perhaps. Her eyes are emphasised by the blue of the sky and her dilated pupils by the black of her hat, but she doesn’t quite meet our gaze. She seems either to have just looked away, or to be plucking up courage to glance upwards. Rubens was clearly fascinated by Lunden and, just a few years later, he married her youngest sister Hélène, who was 16 at the time (he was 52).
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of Susanna Lunden(?) ('Le Chapeau de Paille')
- Artist
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Artist dates
- 1577 - 1640
- Date made
- probably 1622-5
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 79 × 54.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1871
- Inventory number
- NG852
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 17th-century French Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2017Rubens and RembrandtThe National Gallery (London)22 March 2017 - 6 August 2017
Bibliography
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1823G. Stanley, Memorandum of the Picture Called the Chapeau de Paille, by P.P. Rubens, London 1823
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1833J.D. Passavant, 'Gallerie des Herrn Th. Hope', in Kunstreise durch England und Belgien, Frankfurt am Main 1833
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1836J.D. Passavant, Tour of a German Artist in England, London 1836
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1838G.F. Waagen, Works of Art and Artists in England, trans. H. Lloyd, vol. 2, London 1838
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1890M. Rooses and J. Maes, L'œuvre de P. P. Rubens: Histoire et description de ses tableaux et dessins, vol. 3, Antwerp 1890
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1896M. Rooses, 'De verdeeling van Rubens's nalatenschap tusschen Helena Fourment en de voor-en nakinderen van Rubens', Rubens-Bulletijn, IV, 1896, pp. 236-52
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1909S.L. Bensusan, Rubens, London 1909
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1916W.H. Helm, 'Review: Vigée Le Brun, Her Life, Works, and Friendships', The Burlington Magazine, XXIX/158, 1916
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1938P. Jamot, 'Chapeau de Paille ou Chapeau de Poil?', Annuaire des Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, I, 1938, pp. 157-61
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1948P.B. Coremans, 'The Recent Cleaning of Rubens Chapeau de Paille', The Burlington Magazine, XC/546, 1948, pp. 257-61
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1950J.R.H. Weaver, 'The Weaver Report on the Cleaning of Pictures in the National Gallery. Part I', Museum, III/2, 1950, pp. 113-76
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1970G. Martin, The Flemish School, circa 1600-circa 1900, London 1970
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1977H. Vlieghe, 'Une grande collection anversoise du dix-septième siècle: Le cabinet d'Arnold Lunden, beau-frère de Rubens', Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, XIX, 1977, pp. 172-204
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1979A. Braham, Rubens, Themes and Painters in the National Gallery 8, London 1979
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1983H. Vlieghe, 'Some Remarks on the Identification of Sitters in Rubens' Portraits', in W.H. Wilson (ed.), Papers presented at the International Rubens Symposium, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, April 14 – 16, 1982, Sarasota 1983
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1986Martin, Gregory, National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School, circa 1600 - circa 1900, London 1986
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1987H. Vlieghe, Rubens Portraits of Identified Sitters Painted in Antwerp, London 1987
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1989M. Jaffé, Rubens: Catalogo completo, Milan 1989
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1989C. Scribner, Peter Paul Rubens, New York 1989
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1997D. Bomford, Conservation of Paintings, London 1997
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1998C. Brown, 'Revising the Canon: The Collector's Point of View', Simiolus, XXVI/3, 1998, pp. 201-12
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1999J. Kirby, 'The Painter's Trade in the Seventeenth Century: Theory and Practice', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XX, 1999, pp. 5-49
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2006A. Leclair, 'Un cabinet de tableaux meconnu: Les "Rubens" du marquis de Voyer d'Argenson en 1750', Revue de l'art, 153, 2006, pp. 41-56
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2018Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings, London 2018
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.