Portrait of a Bearded Gentleman

1574 · Private collection

portrait

The sitter of this portrait is an unidentified bearded gentleman, bust-length, in a black doublet with a white lace ruff. Before the Second World War, the painting had traditionally been thought to be the work of Antonis Mor. In 1940, it was looted by the Nazi authorities.

About the Artist

Adriaen Thomasz Key

1544 – 1589

Key, family of Flemish painters best known for their portraiture. Willem Key (c. 1515-68) was a pupil of Lambert Lombard c. 1540 in Liège. In 1542 he was made a master of the Antwerp Guild, where he spent the rest of his working life. His nephew, Adriaen Thomasz. Key (c. 1544 - after 1589), was probably his pupil. The latter became a master of the Antwerp Guild in 1568. Both artists were highly regarded in their day and did assured and solid portraits of famous people. Their religious works are less well known, and many of Willem's are known to have perished at the hands of iconoclasts.

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