Portrait of Helena Fourment?
Antwerp, 1630-1635
Drawing with black and red chalk heightened with white
561 x 351 mm
Both the former attribution to Rubens and the identification of the sitter as Helena Fourment are doubtful, and compromised by poor condition. The traditional identification of the sitter as the artist’s second wife stems from the similarity of her pose and costume to those of Helena Fourment in Rubens’ portrait of her with two of her children now in the Louvre.
The drawing is closely related to a grisaille sketch of ‘The Wise Virgins’ in a private collection in Belgian.
Purchased 1936 (No. 36.4)
