Bust of a Bearded Man (Doge Giovanni Cornaro) (1632–36): Art, History and Details

Bust of a Bearded Man (Doge Giovanni Cornaro) (1632–36) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Christoffel Jegher (Flemish, 1596–1652/53); Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Among the finest chiaroscuros of the 17th century are those of Jegher, a professional woodcutter who made prints after designs by Peter Paul Rubens from about 1632 until 1640. Although Rubens had employed engravers to reproduce and propagate his designs from about 1609, he did not utilize woodcut until later. Jegher produced nine woodcuts, including two chiaroscuros, after his images. Bust of a Bearded Man, based on a painting, is printed from four blocks, none of which alone produces the outline of the entire image. The resulting print is very painterly and a masterpiece in chiaroscuro.

Object facts

• Title: Bust of a Bearded Man (Doge Giovanni Cornaro)
• Date: 1632–36
• Creator attribution: Christoffel Jegher (Flemish, 1596–1652/53); Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640)
• Culture: Flanders
• Type: Print
• Technique: chiaroscuro woodcut
• Dimensions: Sheet: 28.3 x 21.3 cm (11 1/8 x 8 3/8 in.)
• Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1996.249

Collection credit

The Charlotte Ekker and Charlotte Van der Veer Memorial Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rare Korean Screen Painting, Important Baroque Drawing, Sheeler Drawing Join the Museum Collection,” October 10, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.