Study of an Old Man with Clasped Hands

Featuring distinct brushwork, this study was painted by the Antwerp artist Jacob Jordaens. His sitter was the attendant of the painter`s guild , Abraham de Graef. Thanks to his conspicuous physiognomy, the latter had also become a sought-after model for other outstanding Antwerp masters. The Prague study is characteristic in its loose and masterful treatment. It is painted with quick, pastose brushstrokes, which proves the spontaneity and interest with which Jordaens approached this work. De Graef´s clasped hands and his supplicant expression suggest that this study served Jordeans as a basis for a subsequent representation of a saint, most possibly an apostle, whom the painter impressed with de Graef´s features. Jordaens was exceptionally interested in the expressive features of this man, for he sketched him several times - his portrayals are kept in the museums in Detroit, Caen, Ghent in Belgium, or in Hamburg.