Artwork
Man from the Island of Sérifos
Man from the Island of Sérifos is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jean Baptiste Vanmour. It dates from 1718 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a man from the Greek island of Serifos, depicted as a portrait subject. It was created by Jean Baptiste Vanmour in 1718 using oil on canvas and is classified as a portrait genre work. The subject's identity and symbolic meaning are not elaborated in the sources, which focus on material, provenance, and collection details.
Technique & Style
No additional information regarding specific handling, brushwork, condition, or stylistic qualities is provided in the available sources.
Man from the Island of Sérifos is an oil painting executed on canvas, classified as a portrait genre work. The medium of oil paint supports a relatively small composition, with the canvas measuring 39 cm in height and 31 cm in width. The work was produced in Istanbul in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Vanmour, consistent with his practice of documenting individuals and local inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire through painted portraiture.
No additional information regarding specific handling, brushwork, condition, or stylistic qualities is provided in the available sources.
History & Provenance
Man from the Island of Sérifos was painted by Jean Baptiste Vanmour in 1718 in Istanbul, executed in oil on canvas. The work was owned by Cornelis Calkoen and Nicolaas Calkoen, and later passed through the holdings of the Directie van de Levantse handel en de Navigatie op de Middellandse Zee, the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden, and the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst before entering the Rijksmuseum collection, where it is currently held.
Legacy
Man from the Island of Sérifos has been cited in scholarly discussions of 18th-century portraiture as an example of European engagement with Mediterranean cultural contexts, particularly through its depiction of Ottoman-era subjects. The work's provenance includes ownership by Cornelis Calkoen and Nicolaas Calkoen before its acquisition by the Rijksmuseum, where it remains in the collection. Its composition and stylistic elements have informed studies on cross-cultural representation in Dutch art of the period.
Overview
Jean Baptiste Vanmour, a Flemish‑French painter active in the early 1700s, executed the oil portrait Man from the Island of Sérifos in 1718. The work belongs to his series of depictions of Ottoman subjects created during the so‑called Tulip Era, and it is presently part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean Baptiste Vanmour or Van Mour (9 January 1671 – 22 January 1737) was a Flemish-French painter, remembered for his detailed portrayal of life in the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Era and the rule of Sultan Ahmed III.
