(Utrecht 1608–1649)
The Concert,
oil on canvas, 134 x 164 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection Henri Barbier, Geneva 1967

Literature:
W. L. van de Watering, Petrus, Roetert en Lumen Portengen, Medelingen van het RKD, in: Oud Holland 82, 1967, pp. 153-164, fig. 9

This elegant painting carried a traditional attribution to Lumen Portengen, an Utrecht Carravaggist. In 1967 the art historian W. van de Watering published an article on this artist and his two brothers, Petrus and Roetert, who were also painters. He believed that the present painting was not by Lumen Portengen, but instead a work of Simon Peter Tilman (or Tilmann) (1601-1668), (see W. L. van de Watering, Petrus, Roetert en Lumen Portengen, Medelingen van het RKD, in: Oud Holland 82, 1967, pp. 153-164). The attribution to Tilman, however, is untenable. Huys Janssens, instead, reconsiders the original attribution of the painting to Lumen Portengen. In the article by Van de Watering only eight paintings by him are listed. Some other works have since then surfaced, but no more than twelve paintings are known by Portengen. We know that the artist came from a wealthy family in Utrecht and supposedly he did not have to make a living out of his profession (Watering, p. 150). His style is a mixture of the caravaggesque chiaroscuro style combined with brighter lighting that became fashionable during the 1630s. We know that Lumen visited Rome in that period (this has become clear from a document dating from 1639 that is preserved in the Municipal Archives in Utrecht: see P. Huys Janssen, Nieuws over Lumen Portengen; een attestatie uit 1639, in: Oud Holland 102, 1988, pp. 247-248).

The popularity that Caravaggism enjoyed during the 1620s had waned a decade later as it was superseded by the more elegant classicist style. Typical for the paintings by Lumen Portengen is the rendering of the folds of the costumes with sharp edges. He also has a preference for accentuating the lips of his protagonists, and some of his figures lean slightly backwards and to the side, perhaps to create a sense of movement. These characteristics are clearly evident in the signed Lute Player from 1636, now in Utrecht, and the equally signed Musical Company that was last recorded in London (see W. L. van de Watering, op. cit., p. 156, no. 4 and p. 157, no. 8, pl. 8). A similar painting, signed with a monogram and dated 1642 is in the Musée Tessé in Le Mans in France. An unsigned painting of a Female Lute Player, that has been rightly attributed to Lumen Portengen by Prof. Leonard J. Slatkes, was offered for sale in New York in 2007.

We are grateful to Paul Huys Janssen for confirming the authenticity. A certificate is available.