Oval, bust-length portrait study of a young man

ca. 1740–60

Not on view

After training in Antwerp, the young Van Aken went to London, where he specialized in painting draperies. The leading portraitists there, including Joseph Highmore, Thomas Hudson, and Allan Ramsay, often painted only a sitter's face, relying on Van Aken to finish the rest of the figure. His work became ubiquitous, to the point that the collector and writer Horace Walpole remarked wryly: "As in England almost everybody's picture is painted, so almost every painter's works were painted by Van Aken."
An assistant probably made this portrait study, but it demonstrates Van Aken's typical attention to texture using black and white chalk to describe the elements of the costume, with touches of brown ink used to refine details. The design was then overlaid with a graphite grid to allow it to be transferred accurately onto canvas.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Oval, bust-length portrait study of a young man
Artist: Circle of Joseph van Aken (Flemish, Antwerp (?) ca. 1699–1749 London (active Britain))
Date: ca. 1740–60
Medium: Black and white chalk and graphite on blue laid paper, squared in graphite
Dimensions: sheet: 13 1/4 x 11 in. (33.6 x 28 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Jeffrey L. Berenson Gift, 2004
Object Number: 2004.513
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Joseph van Aken

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Half-length portrait study of a wigged man, Joseph van Aken Flemish, Black and white chalk and graphite on blue laid paper, squared in graphite — Half-length portrait study of a wigged man
Circle of Joseph van Aken
ca. 1740–60

Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany, Justus Sustermans Flemish, Oil on canvas, transferred from wood, Flemish — Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany
Workshop of Justus Sustermans
1597–1681

Study of Eleven Heads, Jacques de Gheyn II Netherlandish, Pen and three shades of brown ink with black chalk on laid paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink and graphite — Study of Eleven Heads
Jacques de Gheyn II
late 16th–early 17th century

Half-length portrait study of a woman wearing a cap and pearl earrings, Joseph van Aken Flemish, Black and white chalk, brown ink and graphite on blue laid paper, squared in graphite — Half-length portrait study of a woman wearing a cap and pearl earrings
Circle of Joseph van Aken
ca. 1740–60

Corporation Banner of Crossbow Guild, Silk, Flemish — Corporation Banner of Crossbow Guild
Flemish
late 17th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.