Head of an old man

This head study of an old man from around 1650 belongs to Jordaens' extensive production of character studies, which served as preparatory material for religious and mythological compositions. These powerful, direct studies from life are among the most admired aspects of Jordaens' oeuvre. Jordaens, who outlived both Rubens and Van Dyck to become the dominant figure in Flemish Baroque painting for the second half of the seventeenth century, was particularly celebrated for his exuberant genre subjects, especially his series on the Flemish proverb about the King of the Bean.

The head is rendered with bold, confident brushwork and warm flesh tones, capturing the texture of aged skin with Jordaens' characteristic combination of naturalistic observation and painterly bravura.