Jacques Gaultier, Lutenist

“Jacoba Govtero inter regios magnae Britanniae...” Etching, ca. 1632-1635, 295 x 23 mm., Bartsch 59, Dutuit 58 iii/iv, Hollstein 23 iii/v.  A very fine impression on laid paper, with good margins and in fine condition.  

Gaultier was court lutenist in London from about 1617 to 1647. Lievens, after his roommate, Rembrandt, left Leyden to go to Amsterdam, fell under the influence of Van Dyck, and went to London for a time where he etched this now celebrated portrait.

Among the most distinguished Dutch artists of his day, over the six decades of his career Lievens worked for members of the Dutch and English princely households, won important religious and civic commissions, and excelled in a range of styles and subjects. His prints and drawings, like his paintings, were esteemed by connoisseurs and copied by other artists. Although Lievens sought to become a painter of biblical and allegorical scenes, his gift for painting faces also won him ardent admiration. Constantijn Huygens — secretary to the Prince of Orange, as well as poet, writer, and intellectual — was one of the most influential Dutch patrons of art. After his initial visit to Lievens’ studio in 1628, Huygens wrote that the artist “wreaks miracles” with the human countenance and admired Lievens’ extraordinary ability to evoke the essence of a person through features alone. He became Lievens’ lifelong advocate, sending important commissions his way.  Lievens never narrowed his focus entirely, but portraits became an essential part of his practice and a steady source of much-needed income. (15394)

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