Abraham Grapheus as Saint Andrew

This portrait of Abraham Grapheus as Saint Andrew, around 1620, by Jordaens, depicts the elderly steward of the Antwerp painters' guild in the guise of the apostle. The practice of using recognizable models for sacred figures was common in Flemish Baroque painting. 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 aged model's weathered features lend convincing authority to the apostle characterization. Jordaens's bold, direct painting style captures the physical reality of the elderly man with characteristic honesty.