Lot 1006. Joos van Cleve (around 1485 Kleve - 1541 Antwerp), Portrait of a young man. Oil on wood. 20 x 12.5 cm. Estimate: € 100,000 - € 120,000. © Lempertz

Provenance: Henry Oppenheimer (1839-1932 London). - Christie's London, 24.7.1936, Lot 8. - Koetser Gallery, London, New York 1941. - Nicholas M. Acquavella Galleries, New York. - Private collection New York (?). - Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, 7.6.1984, Lot 13th - German Private Collection.

Exhibited: London 1927, No. 124 (?). - Koetser Gallery, New York 1941, No. 3. - Kassel, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, on loan until about 2002.

Literature: MJ Friedländer: The Old Dutch Painting, Vol. IX, p. 50, No. 75. - MJ Friedländer 1972, Vol. IX, No. 75, fig. 94. - H. Comstock: An early portrait by Joos van Cleve, in : Connoisseur 108, 1941, pp. 120-121. - JO Hand: Joos van Cleve. The Early and Mature Paintings, Diss. Princeton University 1978, pp. 59-61, 294, No. 3, Fig. 3. - JO Hand: Joos van Cleve. The complete paintings, p. 21, fig. 11, catalog no. 3, p. 114.

Note: Joos van Cleve has left an extensive work, including altarpieces, Madonnas and a handsome number of portraits. The early works refer to influences of Jan Joest, who carried out the high altar in Kalkar in 1505/08, later he was succeeded by Hans Memling and Gerard David. Around 1530, Joos van Cleve was appointed portraitist to the court of Francis I, and his style subsequently became trend-setting for French portraiture from 1530-1570.

Of these mature portraits our 1509 dated work is still far away. Its significance is rather that it can be considered the earliest portrait in the complete works of van Cleves. At about the same time a portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, which has the same framing. Frame and picture form materially in both cases a unity.

The identity of the young man depicted here is unknown. Against a monochrome green background, the small-format portrait in the three-quarter profile gives the impression of simplicity. His facial expression and relatively narrow shoulders compared to his head confirm this effect. The painter also dispenses with the characterizing function of the hands, thus emphasizing the static character of his image structure. This effect is reinforced by the calm, the viewer fixating look of the young man. In the picture frame, the portrait carries the enigmatic inscription: "Et make Ghesceien" - "It may happen".