Period Portraits has dated this piece to the 18th Century.
Drapery painters were specialist painters who completed the dress, costumes and other accessories worn by the subjects of portrait paintings and from roughly 1725 to 1760 a large majority of British portraits’ clothing & landscapes were painted by the workshop of Alexander Van Haecken and his brother Joseph (d. 1749).
Working for portrait painters with a large clientele, the brothers were in fact recognised as amongst the foremost drapery painters active in mid-18th-century England and the link between the brothers and the portrait painter Thomas Hudson and the similarities among Van Haecken’s sketches at Scotland’s National Gallery of Art and surviving portraits is well documented.
The drapery painters work was central to the success of many celebrated London portrait artists who would completed the face and hands, and the drapery painters would be responsible for the costume.
This newly discovered portrait is a significant work which helps to aid understanding of the creative and commercial workings of the eighteenth century portrait studio.
(See the collections of Yale Center for British Art for a portrait of the same sitter, attributed to Thomas Hudson (1701-1779).
Higher resolution images on request.
Worldwide shipping available.
Panel: 9.5” x 7.5" / 25cm x 20cm.
Frame: 17" x 14,5” / 44cm x 37cm
Price: £4200
Period Portraits has dated this piece to the 18th Century.
Specialist dealer in portraits from the 17th century to the 20th century. Our stock includes quality oil paintings, drawings, and mezzotints
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Period Portraits Profile Page
18th Century English Oil on Panel Portrait of Alexander Van Aken (1701-1757)
