(Antwerp 1644–1680 Amsterdam)
The Grief-Stricken Pyramus commits suicide,
oil on panel, 67 x 50.5 cm, framed

On the reverse a hammered mark: cross moline with letters P and M, as well as an old inscription in red paint: Piramo.

We are grateful to Dr. Bernhard Schnackenburg, Kassel, for identifying the present painting as an autograph work by Jan Andrea Lievens. We also thank Dr. Thomas Eißing, Bamberg University, for examining the panel and identifying the wood as fir.

Schnackenburg writes: ‘This painting has been recognised as the work by a Dutch artist under Flemish influence before and has been related to Jan Lievens. The style, typical of the High Baroque and relying on the art of Rubens and Van Dyck, points to a late period, i.e., after 1660, which would have been towards the end of Jan Lievens’s career. However, it is out of the question that he himself is the author of the present work, for the facial types, characterised by deep emotion, do not compare to those of his late period. Rather, there is a lot in this picture that speaks for his talented son and student, Jan Andrea Lievens. In its vivid facial expressions, depiction of the hands, and fluffy, bright fabrics, it is closely related to the recently emerged painting The Drinker by Jan Andrea Lievens (sale, Sotheby’s New York, 31 January 2013, no. 70), which was considered worth being reproduced as an engraving immediately after its completion, with the artist’s famous father mentioned as the inventor of the work (Schneider, 1972/73, no. 126). The Geographer in Leiden, Rheinlandhaus (ibid., no. 117; Jan Lievens, exhib. cat., Washington, 2008, no. 55), is painted in a similarly generous Flemish style. Jan Lievens received the commission in 1665 or 1666 and entrusted his still-unknown son with the execution of the work, which entailed that he was only paid parts of the fee. It seems that he was hoping Jan Andrea would support him now that he had grown older….’ Schnackenburg has also written on the subject matter: ‘The painting attracts attention at first sight because of its unique iconography. The half-length figure of Pyramus, prepared to die, is unique. Throughout the centuries, all of the countless renderings of this love tragedy, including Pyramus’ suicide, were composed as entire scenes, with full-length figures set against landscape or architectural backdrops. In the present picture, Pyramus is viewed from close up so that one can even recognise the tears he sheds over the death of Thisbe, who was allegedly killed by a lioness and whose blood-soaked scarf he holds in his left hand. The focus is not only on the plot, but also on the personality of the desperate man in the foreground. Raising his eyes like a martyr, he appeals to a divine power. This motif goes beyond Ovid’s narration….’ Jan Andries Lievens was a highly gifted portraitist. W. Bernt has written: ‘the portraits of renowned Amsterdam dignitaries are decoratively rendered, mostly in three-quarter length, against landscape backgrounds. We also know well-done equestrian portraits by his hand (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum).’