Portrait of a Gentleman, probably James Howell
- Cornelius Johnson, British, 1593-1661
Cornelius Johnson, Portrait of a Gentleman, probably James Howell, 1634. Oil paint on canvas; 32 × 25 in. (81.3 × 63.5 cm). Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, 2020.17
One of the most prolific portraitists in London in 1620s and ‘30s, Cornelius Johnson worked in an elegant, somewhat conservative style, his compositions simple and unadorned and the details of his sitters’ features and dress closely observed. His subject here is thought to be James Howell (1594?-1666), who wrote numerous historical and political pamphlets and held diplomatic and administrative posts under Charles I. Johnson’s restrained style moderated with Sir Anthony van Dyck’s arrival in England in 1632, becoming more naturalistic, as here, with the inclusion of his subject’s right hand, an addition that enhances the portrait’s lifelikeness.
- “Treasures from the Berger Collection: British Paintings 1400-2000” — Denver Art Museum, 10/2/2014 – 9/9/2018