Gerard Douffet

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Nobleman'), London, Sotheby's, 8 December 2005, lot 224, for £142,400;

Where acquired by the present owner.

P. Huys, 'Pieter van Laer, Benjamin Cuyp, Gerard Douffet and Paul Dujardin in Utrecht', in Hoogsteder Mercury, no. 11, 1990, p. 54.

ENGRAVED

Steven van Lamsweerde (1630–1686), 1659.

Painted in Utrecht during Gerard Douffet’s brief exile from his native city of Liège, this highly accomplished portrait depicts Cyprien Regnier of Oostergooer (1614–1687), Professor of Law at the University of Utrecht. Although the date inscribed on the painting is partially obscured, the sitter’s recorded age of thirty-six confirms its execution in 1649. Works by Douffet rarely appear on the market, and the present painting is one of only two portraits by the artist to have come to auction in more than three decades, further enhancing its significance within the small corpus of his surviving œuvre.

Douffet ranks among the most distinguished painters of 17^th century Liège. Initially trained under Jean Taulier, whose pupils also included Renier de Lairesse, father and first teacher of Gérard de Lairesse, Douffet travelled to Italy at an early stage in his career, visiting Rome, Naples and Venice. He re-established himself in Liège in 1623, and in 1634 was appointed official painter to Ferdinand of Bavaria, Prince-Bishop of the city, a testament to his growing reputation. Douffet's distinct Caravaggesque style, informed by his Italian sojourn, exerted a profound influence upon 17^th century artists in his native city, including his only known pupil, Bertholet Flémal. Following a political dispute, Douffet was forced into exile in 1648 and is recorded in Utrecht by 1650. It was during this period that he executed the present portrait, a rare survival from his activity in the Dutch Republic.

An engraving after the present work by Steven van Lamsweerde, dated 1659 and in which both artist and sitter are identified, is in the Municipal Archives, Utrecht.