Beskrivning: Se även beskrivning i den engelska versionen

Catalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 164:

Technical notes: The slightly convex oak panel
(±0.4 cm thick) consists of two horizontal, butt-joined,
radial boards with a horizontal grain. Bevelling along the
left and right edges on the back. A long horizontal check
extends across the full width of the panel from the upper
left edge, and a short horizontal check, c. 4.5 cm long,
extends from the lower left edge. Small piece of wood is
missing at the upper left corner. Back of the panel with a
layer of white ground, painted, then coated with wax. A
dendrochronological dating was not possible.

Infrared reflectography revealed an extensive, very
loose and sketchy dark underdrawing in a dry medium
(black chalk?), principally in the figures, some of which
were subsequently painted in different positions, while
others were never executed in paint: Joseph’s head was
initially drawn in a position further to the left and was
then, in the final painting, brought closer to the Virgin,
whose forehead, chin and neck were first drawn slightly
further to the left; the headdress of the Magus
standing behind Joseph was first drawn in a more angular
shape and then changed to a more rounded form; to the
right of the standing Magus, the head in profile of a
soldier wearing a plumed helmet was drawn but never
painted. The painting underwent conservation treatment
in 1976.

Provenance: KM 1816, no. 458.

Exhibited: Stockholm 1973, no. 22; Stockholm 1977,
no. 80.

Bibliography: NM Cat. 1867, p 43; Sander IV, p. 94,
no. 458 (as Rubens); Göthe 1887, pp. 228–229 (as circle
of Rubens); Göthe 1893, pp. 281–282 (as circle of
Rubens); NM Cat.1958, p. 176 (as circle of Rubens);
NM Cat. 1990, p. 202 (as attributed to Peter van Lint).

The subject of this painting, The Adoration of the Magi,
is a common religious theme in the circle of Rubens
(Matthew 2: 1–12). The painting was attributed to
Rubens in the inventory of 1816. This attribution was
questioned by Sander, who considered the painting’s
composition to be by Rubens although executed by
another hand. Göthe shared this opinion. He pointed
out some engravings that had compositional similarities
with the Nationalmuseum’s picture: the composition
in L. Vorsterman’s engraving after a Rubens original
in the Musée des Beaux Arts of Lyon is one example.
Another is Schelte à Bolswert’s engraving after a
Rubens painting in the Musée du Louvre where some
figures (the Virgin, the black king and one of the spectators),
correspond to the same figures in the
Nationalmuseum painting.1 Frans Francken II has
also been considered as a possible originator of the
painting. Jacques Foucart at the Louvre questioned
this opinion considering it to be the work of someone
in Rubens’ circle.2

In NM Cat. 1990 Cavalli-Björkman changed the
attribution to Peter van Lint. Van Lint often copied
paintings by his teacher – Artus Wolffort, who in the
later years adapted Rubens’ compositions in his paintings.
Van Lint’s style prior to 1640 shows strong influences
from Rubens’ painting.

Recently, this attribution was rejected by Jan
Kosten, curator at RKD in The Hague.3
His arguments confirm former opinions. As already
mentioned, there are engravings where certain elements
that can be identified as Rubensian correspond
to the Nationalmuseum’s picture. It has been suggested
that the The Adoration of the Magi may be a production
of the workshop of Simon de Vos. His earlier religious
and history pictures (before c. 1640) are smallscale
works that reveal links with Rubens’ work: the
characterization of figures is similar to Rubens; certain
individual elements come from different Rubens’
paintings. The plasticity and bright light effects characterize
the style of these paintings. As long as there is
nothing more definitive to consider, our conclusion
concerning the Nationalmuseum’s painting must however
be that the composition was derived from a work
by Rubens, but as it was not painted in Rubens’ workshop
the artist must be sought in a wider circle.
GCB

1 Rooses, 1886–1892, no. 173.
2 In a discussion between Jacques Foucart and Görel Cavalli-Björkman.
3 In a discussion between Jan Kosten and Carina Fryklund. [End]

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