This summer, M is exhibiting two versions of St. Jerome with an angel by Antoon van Dyck (1599-1641), the master portrait painter of the Flemish School who was born in Antwerp.
One version is housed in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, on long-term loan from the Willem van der Vorm Collection. The other version of the painting is the property of the National Museum in Stockholm. Both paintings were produced at the artist’s workshop between 1618 and 1621.
Restoration and research
The two paintings have recently been restored. This process revealed fundamental differences between the two works. Extensive research has attempted to discover which of the two was painted first and whether they were both painted by the master himself. Is one an original and the other a copy produced by Van Dyck himself at his workshop? Or is one of the two a copy painted by his students?
Multimedia presentation
The results of this research have already been presented at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the National Museum in Stockholm. X-rays indicate that both canvasses have maintained their original size, though the version from Rotterdam is narrower than the version from Stockholm. Investigation of paint samples demonstrates that the pigments used for the two paintings are identical. Infrared technology has revealed a number of overpainted corrections on one of the canvasses. A detailed comparison of the brush strokes has also been conducted, revealing that the strokes on the canvas from Stockholm are less relaxed, and that this version is thus less masterful at a cursory glance. The depiction of Jerome’s foot, however, is better in this version than in the version from Rotterdam.
On 11 June, M Leuven will present the comparison of these paintings to the public. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to experience the research through an 8-minute light and sound presentation. They will even be able to compare the two works themselves by means of a multimedia presentation with projections on the paintings. Last but not least, the exhibition will reveal which of the two paintings is the original Van Dyck.
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