(Cologne 1577–1640 Antwerp) and workshop,
Maria Lactans, oil on panel, 63 x 49 cm, framed,

Certificate: Prof Justus Müller-Hofstede, Bonn as autograph work by Rubens

Provenance: probably formerly in the collection of Tsarina Catherine II; Countess Voss, Berlin; art market Munich (1984); private collection.

Literature: M. Rooses, L’oeuvre de P. P. Rubens, vol. I, Paris 1986, see cat. no. 187; M. Jaffé, Rubens - Catalogo Completo, Milan 1989, p. 200, see cat. no. 280. This present picture is one of the most charming compositions by Rubens and his workshop. Our painting is the closest in terms of dimensions and execution to the version in the collection of King Frederick II now in Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam, which to date has been considered to be the first version. According to the current state of research the painting at Potsdam is also thought to be a workshop piece. In 1989 Jaffé listed a total of four versions: the painting in Potsdam, which he dated to 1621, a version in the Galleria Corsini, Rome, one in the Kuranda Collection, which probably is the work of Theodor van Thulden, and a version which appeared on the market in Munich in 1984. The latter was probably our present painting. It is possible that it comes from the collection of Tsarina Catherine II and was donated by the Prussian lady-in-waiting, the Countess Voss. On the basis of the comparative images in the Witt Library, London, the picture could not be matched to any of the other versions. It is highly probable then that this is the version from the Tsarina’s collection. It is noticeable when comparing this work to the Potsdam version, that the interiority of our painting has been intensified by the serious expression of the Virgin.

Certificate: Prof Justus Müller-Hofstede, Bonn. Provenance: probably formerly in the collection of Tsarina Catherine II; Countess Voss, Berlin; art market Munich (1984); private collection. Literature: M. Rooses, L’oeuvre de P. P. Rubens, vol. I, Pari