Léal Souvenir
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''Léal Souvenir'' (also known as ''Timotheus'' or ''Portrait of a Man'') is a small oil-on-oak panel portrait by the
Early Netherlandish Early Netherlandish painting is the body of work by artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period, once known as the Flemish Primitives. It flourished especially in the ...
painter
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( ; ; – 9 July 1441) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Nort ...
, dated 1432. The sitter has not been identified, but his highly individual features suggest a historical person rather than the hypothetical ideal usual at the time in northern
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
portraiture; his slight and unassuming torso is contrasted with a sophisticated facial expression. His features have been described as "plain and rustic", yet thoughtful and inward-looking. The sitter was apparently significant enough a member of the Burgundian duke
Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...
's circle that his court painter portrayed him. The man sits before an imitation
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
with three sets of painted inscriptions, each rendered to look as if chiselled or scratched into stone.Panofsky, 80 Van Eyck did not have full command of either
classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...
or
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and made errors, so readings by modern scholars vary. The first inscription is in Greek and seems to spell "TYΜ.ωΘΕΟϹ", which has not been satisfactorily interpreted but has led some to title the work ''Timotheus''. The middle reads in French ''"Leal Souvenir"'' ("Loyal Memory") and indicates that the portrait is a posthumous commemoration. The third records van Eyck's signature and the date of execution.Bauman, 37 The 19th-century art historian Hippolyte Fierens-Gevaert identified the lettering "TYΜ.ωΘΕΟC"Paviot, 212 with the Greek musician
Timotheus of Miletus Timotheus of Miletus (; c. 446 – 357 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek musician and dithyrambic poet, an exponent of the "new music." He added one or more strings to the lyre, whereby he incurred the displeasure of the Spartans and Athens, Athenia ...
. Panofsky drew the same conclusion, eliminating other Greeks bearing the name Timothy; they were of religious or military background, professions that do not match the civilian dress of the sitter. Panofsky believed the man was probably a highly placed musician in Philip's court, possibly
Gilles Binchois Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois is renowned a melodist and miniaturist; he generally a ...
.Wood, 650 More recent research focuses on the legalistic wording in one of the inscriptions, suggesting to some that he was in some way connected to the legal profession, or an employee of
Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...
. The panel was acquired in 1857 by the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
, London, where it is on permanent display.


Description

''Léal Souvenir'' is one of the earliest surviving examples of secular
portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...
in medieval European art and one of the earliest extant unidealised representations.Smith, 42 This is apparent in its
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...
and acute observation of the details of the man's everyday appearance. Van Eyck worked in the early
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
tradition and pioneered the manipulation of oil paint. Oil allowed smooth
translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...
surfaces, could be applied across a range of thicknesses and was manipulable while wet, which allowed far more subtle detail than available to previous generations of painters.Smith, 61 The parapet dominates the portrait, and his head seems oversized compared to his upper body. Some art historians speculate that this is a result of van Eyck's then inexperience; it was only his second known portrait. Meiss speculates that van Eyck may have "los control of hedesign as a whole by indulging his astounding virtuosity."


Parapet

The decayed
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
allows van Eyck to display his skill at mimicking stone chiselling and scarring, and shows the influence of classical Roman
funerary art Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the death, dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, a ...
, particularly stone memorials. The parapet gives the work
gravitas () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task ...
, the chips and cracks conveying a sense of the venerable, or, according to art historian Elisabeth Dhanens, a sense of the "fragility of life or of memory itself".


Portrait

The man is positioned within an undefined narrow space and set against a flat black background. Typically for vanEyck, the head is large in relation to the torso. He is dressed in typically Burgundian fashion, with a red robe and a green wool chaperon with a bourrelet and cornette hanging forward. The headdress is trimmed with fur, fastened with two buttons, and extends to the parapet. His right hand might be holding the end of the cornette. Neither the shape of his head nor his facial features correspond to contemporary standard types, let alone canons of ideal beauty. The sitter appears to be bald, although there are some faint traces of fair hair, leading Erwin Panofsky to conclude that his "countenance is as 'Nordic' as his dress is Burgundian."Panofsky, 82 Though he has neither eyebrows nor stubble, he does have eyelashes that are believed to have been added by a 19th-century restorer. Van Eyck's cool observation of the man's narrow shoulders, pursed lips, and thin eyebrows extends to detailing the moisture on his blue eyes.Kemperdick, 19 Unlike
Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...
, who paid especially close attention to detail in the rendering of his models' fingers, to vanEyck hands were often something of an afterthought. They are generically rendered, do not contain much detail and may have been a later workshop addition. Yet they are very similar to those of the sitter in his 1435 ''Portrait of
Baudouin de Lannoy Baldwin van Lannoy, Lord of Molembais (1388–1474), nicknamed "Le Bègue" (The Stutterer), was a Flemish statesman, and ambassador for Philip the Good at the court of Henry V of England. He was born in 1388 in Hénin-Beaumont and died in 1474 in ...
''. The man holds a scroll that might be a legal document, letter, or pamphlet. In his early portraits, vanEyck's sitters are often shown holding objects indicative of their profession.Pächt, 110 The scroll contains six lines of illegible writing. The abbreviations are more prominent and seem to be in Latin, but may be vernacular. Light falls from the left, leaving traces of shadow on the side of the man's face, a device commonly found in vanEyck's early portraits.Meiss, 137 He is youthful, and his face has a soft fleshiness achieved through shallow curves and flowing, harmonious brushstrokes, giving the appearance of a relaxed, warm, and open personality, which Meiss describes as evoking an almost "
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
esque warmth and sympathy". The sitter is not handsome; he has a flattish face, a stubby yet pointed nose, and prominent cheekbones that might, according to Panofsky, belong to a "
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
peasant".Panofsky, 88 Dhanens describes him as having an honest expression.Dhanens, 182 A number of art historians have noted the apparent contradiction between the man's plain looks and enigmatic expression. Meiss describes him as "plain and rustic", and finds a resemblance between his rather generic face and a number of figures in the lower portions of the "Adoration of the Lamb" panel in the ''
Ghent Altarpiece The ''Ghent Altarpiece'', also called the ''Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'' (), is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it ...
''.Meiss, 144 Agreeing with Panofsky, he observes a "thoughtfulness on the high, wrinkled forehead, visionary force in the dreamy yet steady eyes, nda formidable strength of passion in the wide, firm mouth". According to Panofsky, the man's face is not that of an intellectual, yet he detects a pensive and lonely nature, "the face of one who feels and produces rather than observes and dissects".


Inscriptions and identity of the sitter

The parapet has three horizontal rows of inscriptions; on the upper and lower rows is smaller lettering that is often not visible in reproductions. In places, the Greek characters are unclear and have been subject to much speculation by art historians, not least due to vanEyck's sometimes erratic spelling and unusual spacing. The top lettering is in chalk white and Greek script that reads "TYΜ.ωΘΕΟC". The last character is deliberately concealed by a chip in the imitation stone, a touch described by Panofsky as a "terminal flourish". This makes the meaning of the inscription difficult to discern. A general consensus among art historians is that the final character is a square C or
sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...
sign. "TYΜ.ωΘΕΟC" was interpreted in 1857 by
Charles Eastlake Charles Locke Eastlake (11 March 1836 – 20 November 1906) was a British architect and furniture designer. His uncle, Sir Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (born in 1793), was a Keeper of the National Gallery, from 1843 to 1847, and from 1855 its fi ...
as "Timotheos", a proper name.Paviot, 214 Campbell points out that vanEyck "appears to have employed the Greek alphabet systematically", and always employed the square sigma ''C'' for the Latin "S", and a
majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally '' majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing syste ...
omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...
''ω'' (in the
uncial Uncial is a majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...
form) for the Latin "O". The inscription may be meant to read "Honour God", or "Be Honoured, OGod", as written in the passive imperative.Paviot, 215 Panofsky gives some consideration to the hypothesis that the final letter is a " N", and that the lettering forms two words rather than one. In this interpretation, the letters spell TYΜω ΘΕΟN, meaning "Honour God". While this would be more straightforward than "Timotheus", he rejects the possibility. He writes that "the presence of a shorter horizontal line connecting with the slightly tapering top of the vertical stroke and completing it into a Γ form ... evidently precludes a " N".Panofsky, 80–81 Dhanens suggests the inscription can be read as "''Time Deum''" ("Fear God"), a known motto of the Vilain family. Eastlake's translation is generally accepted. The possibility of it being a variant of "Timothy" has been discounted, as that word was not used in Northern Europe before the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. There is no Germanic name that might imply a humanistic imitation of a Greek word,Panofsky, 81 so art historians have sought to identify the man from Greek history or legend. Although some have suggested certain
Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
and
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
generals, these have been discounted as the sitter is not wearing military clothing.Panofsky, 82
Saint Timothy Timothy or Timothy of Ephesus (Greek language, Greek: , ''Timótheos'', meaning "honouring God" or "honoured by God") was an early Christian Evangelism, evangelist and the first Christianity, Christian bishop of Ephesus, whom the Acts of Timothy ...
, first Bishop of
Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...
and an associate of
Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, has been suggested but eliminated as the man is not dressed as a high cleric. The larger middle inscription is in French, using a 12th-century script. It reads "LEAL SOVVENIR" (''Loyal Remembrance'', or ''Faithful Souvenir''),Bauman, 35 and is painted to give the impression that it was carved into the parapet. In 1927 Hippolyte Fierens Gevaert put forward
Timotheus of Miletus Timotheus of Miletus (; c. 446 – 357 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek musician and dithyrambic poet, an exponent of the "new music." He added one or more strings to the lyre, whereby he incurred the displeasure of the Spartans and Athens, Athenia ...
, a Greek musician and
dithyrambic The dithyramb (; , ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in '' The Laws'', while discussing various kinds of music m ...
poet born 446. Gevaert held that the portrait was a commemoration of a court artist who had recently died and that the classical reference was intended to flatter his memory. Panofsky largely went with this position in 1949. He speculated that the sitter was the celebrated musician
Gilles Binchois Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois is renowned a melodist and miniaturist; he generally a ...
, by 1430 a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
at
St. Donatian's Cathedral St. Donatian's Cathedral () was a Roman Catholic cathedral in Bruges, Belgium. Located on the Burg, one of the main squares in the city,Dunford and Lee, p.174.McDonald, p.14.McDonald, p.25. it was the largest church in Bruges. The cathedral was ...
, Bruges. Campbell is sceptical, disclaiming that the sitter "is not dressed as a cleric".Campbell, 220 Other theories include that the man was a Greek or Lucchese merchant,
Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...
, Jean deCroÿ or, less likely, that it is a self-portrait. Though there is much disagreement, it is probable that he was a native French speaker, and a notary, poet, or member of the ''Compagnie du Chapel Vert'' ("Society of the Green Hat") at
Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
.Campbell, 220 Dhanens rejects the theory that the man was a musician on the basis that vanEyck would have made this explicit, portraying him holding a device or emblem clearly symbolising music. She concludes that he is an accountant or lawyer holding a legal or financial document.Dhanens, 184 From the first two inscriptions, the panel is generally accepted as a
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
portrait. Roman tombstones often showed a representation of the deceased behind a parapet with a carved inscription, and vanEyck may have known of these from travels to France. The lower inscription reads "Actu an d mii.1432.10.die octobris.a.ioh nnede Eyck" (''Finished in the year of our Lord 1432 on the 10th day of October by Jan vanEyck''). Campbell observes that the phrasing of this extended signature is surprisingly reminiscent of
legalese Legal writing involves the analysis of fact patterns and presentation of arguments in documents such as legal memoranda and briefs. One form of legal writing involves drafting a balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Another form of leg ...
, and that vanEyck seems to be reinforcing the idea that the man was a legal professional,Campbell, 222 who may have worked for the
Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...
.Borchert, 36 Jacques Paviot notes that it is written in the Gothic cursive script ''
bastarda Bastarda or bastard was a blackletter script used in France, the Burgundian Netherlands and Germany during the 14th and 15th centuries. The Burgundian variant of script can be seen as the court script of the Dukes of Burgundy. The particular ...
'', then favoured by the legal profession. In either case, although he is not grandly dressed and is probably a member of the middle class, he must have been highly regarded in Philip's court, given that such portraits rarely depicted non-nobles.


Condition

The panel consists of a single -thick oak board, cut vertically down close to the painted surface. It has a small unpainted area at the upper left. The support's encasing was probably changed in the 19th century; today four of the eight supports are fixed to the edges of the interior borders, forming inner mouldings. The other four act as inner pins. The varnish is severely degraded, with key areas of paint and ground either removed or overpainted.
Infrared photography In infrared photography, the photographic film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wav ...
of the reverse reveals traces of short vertical
hatching Hatching () is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. When lines are placed at an angle to one another, it is called cross-hatching. Hatching is als ...
and underdrawings, but no hint as to the identity of the sitter. Its ground is mostly chalk-based; the pigments are predominantly blacks, red lake, and blues. The final portrait differs in many ways from the underdrawing – the fingers are shorter, the right thumb and the parapet are lower, and the right arm once extended over a larger area. In the final portrait, the ear is elevated, and the scroll occupies a larger pictorial space. Analysis of the pigment shows that the flesh of his face is painted with whites and
vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...
, and traced with greys, blacks, blues, and some
ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. Its lengthy grinding and washing process makes the natural pigment quite valuable—roughly ten times more expensive than the stone it comes fr ...
over a red-lake glaze.Campbell, 218 The portrait is not particularly well preserved. There are yellowish layers of glaze over the face, probably later additions. The varnishes have degraded and lost their original colours. The panel has undergone a number of detrimental retouchings. In some instances, these have altered the sitter's appearance, most especially the removal of strands of fair hair below the chaperon. It has sustained structural damage, especially to the marble on the reverse. The National Gallery repaired some "slight injuries" when it came into their possession in 1857. Campbell notes a number of efforts by later restorers were imperfect and "rather disfiguring", including touchings to the man's nostrils and eyelashes, and the tip of his nose. There is a yellowish glaze over the eyes that seems to be either damage or overpaint. The panel is discoloured overall and suffers from aged and degenerated varnishes that make the original pigments hard to discern.


Provenance

The painting was widely copied and imitated during the 15thcentury. Near-contemporary copper reproductions are known from
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
and
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
.
Petrus Christus Petrus Christus (; 1410/1420 – c. 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and R ...
borrowed the illusionistic carving on the parapet for his 1446 ''
Portrait of a Carthusian ''Portrait of a Carthusian'' is a painting in oils on oak Panel painting, panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus in 1446. The work is part of the Jules Bache Collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ...
''. A 1449–50 portrait of the Venetian Doge Marco Barbarigo attributed to a follower of vanEyck is also heavily indebted to ''Léal Souvenir'' in that it is also unusually tall and narrow, with a large space above the sitter's head. The painting is first recorded in the notes of
Charles Eastlake Charles Locke Eastlake (11 March 1836 – 20 November 1906) was a British architect and furniture designer. His uncle, Sir Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (born in 1793), was a Keeper of the National Gallery, from 1843 to 1847, and from 1855 its fi ...
, the National Gallery's collector and later director, in 1857, the year it was acquired. He mentions that it had been in the possession of the Scottish landscape painter Karl Ross (1816–1858) "before 1854". Like many of vanEyck's works and those of the Early Netherlandish painters in general, the painting's
provenance Provenance () is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, p ...
is murky before the 19thcentury. When the National Gallery was verifying attribution, the two copper reproductions were noted. The first was found by Eastlake in the collection of the Lochis family of Bergamo in Italy, the second in Turin, belonging to Count Castellane Harrach is described as smaller than the original and "very weak". Both are now lost. Ink markings on the marble reverse show a small cross that may record a merchant's mark or emblem. Although it is incomplete and no identification has been made, W.H.J. Weale detected the mark of "an early Italian, probably Venetian owner".Weale, 109 An early provenance in Italy would not imply that the man came from that country; vanEyck's works were often purchased by collectors from that region.


References


Notes


Sources

* Bauman, Guy. "Early Flemish Portraits 1425–1525". ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', volume43, No.4, Spring, 1986 * Borchert, Till-Holger. ''Van Eyck''. London: Taschen, 2008. * Campbell, Lorne. ''The Fifteenth-Century Netherlandish Paintings''. London: National Gallery, 1998. * Dhanens, Elisabeth. ''Hubert and Jan vanEyck''. New York: Tabard Press, 1980. * Harbison, Craig. ''Jan van Eyck, The Play of Realism''. London: Reaktion Books, 1991. * Jones, Susan Frances. ''Van Eyck to Gossaert''. London: National Gallery, 2011. * Kemperdick, Stephan. ''The Early Portrait, from the Collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein and the Kunstmuseum Basel''. Munich: Prestel, 2006. * Meiss, Millard. "'Nicholas Albergati' and the Chronology of Jan van Eyck's Portraits". ''Burlington Magazine'', volume94, No.590, May 1952 * Pächt, Otto. ''Van Eyck and the Founders of Early Netherlandish Painting''. 1999. London: Harvey Miller Publishers. * Panofsky, Erwin. "Who Is Jan van Eyck's 'Tymotheos'?". ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', volume12, 1949 * Paviot, Jacques. "The Sitter for Jan van Eyck's 'Leal Sovvenir". ''Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes'', volume58, 1995 * Smith, Jeffrey Chipps. ''The Northern Renaissance''. London: Phaidon Press, 2004. * Upton, Joel Morgan. ''Petrus Christus: His Place in Fifteenth-Century Flemish painting''. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1989 * Weale, W. H. J. ''Hubert and John Van Eyck, their life and work''. London: J. Lane Company, 1908 * Wood, Wendy. "A new identification of the sitter in Jan van Eyck's Tymotheus portrait". ''The Art Bulletin'', volume60, No.4, December 1978


External links


National Gallery catalogue entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leal Souvenir 1430s paintings 15th-century portraits Portraits by Jan van Eyck