Count Czernin, Vienna;
With Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna;
With Alfred Brod Gallery, London;
There acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon.

Providence, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Northern Baroque Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 15 April - 7 June 1964, no. 28;
New York, Finch College Museum of Art, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Weldon, 11 May - 30 June 1966, no. 45;
University of Maryland Art Gallery, Simon Vouet 1590-1649, February-March 1971, no. 14;
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Caravaggio and His Followers, 30 October 1971 - 2 January 1972, no. 74;
New Orleans Museum of Art, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 13 September - 2 November 1997, no. 67;
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on loan, 2011 - 2017. 

J. deH. Weldon, The Male Portraits of Simon Vouet, unpublished dissertation, New York, pp. 23-24, cat. no. 12;
R.E. Spear, Caravaggio and His Followers, exhibition catalogue, Cleveland 1971, p. 189, cat. no. 74, reproduced p. 188;
N.T. Minty, In the Eye of the Beholder: Northern Baroque Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, exhibition catalogue, New Orleans 1997, cat. no. 67.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has been well restored and should be hung in its current state. The canvas has been lined. Under ultraviolet light, one can see very few retouches in the background. There are a few spots above the head, an arched line of retouches across the upper right corner, and a few other spots further towards the upper right corner. The hair shows a few lines strengthening the curls. There are a few spots of retouching in the shadows beneath the nose and around the mouth. Some grainy texture has been reduced on the bridge of the nose. There are some other small restorations in the right side of the forehead. There are a few isolated spots of retouching in the beautifully painted ruff, as well as a few in the dark coat. This was presumably once framed as an oval, and a color change is visible now that the work is framed as a rectangle.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Included in the landmark 1971 exhibition in Cleveland, Caravaggio and His Followers, this painting dates from Vouet's Italian period and was likely completed after his inital stay in Rome but before his self-portrait of circa 1627, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon.  Spear (see Literature) gives it a possible dating of 1622-25, as Vouet's handling of the impasto in the ruff is freer than in his works of the later 1620s, though less vigorous than in his earlier paintings from his stays in Arles, Braunschweig and Rome. It has also been suggested that the portrait was completed a bit later, circa 1625-1627, during his final months in Italy.

One of the most important and influential French artists of the 17th century, Simon Vouet was born in Paris but traveled from an early age.  He was in England by the age of fourteen and spent time painting in Constantinople in 1611-12.  The following year he moved to Italy, and though he spent time in Venice, Naples, Bologna, Milan and Florence, it was in Rome where his career flourished.  He received a pension from King Louis XIII and remained in Italy for fourteen years, absorbing the influences of the Caravaggisti as well as the more classicizing styles of the Carracci and Guido Reni.  Upon returning to Paris in 1627, Vouet became the Premier peintre du Roi, a title he held until his death in 1649. His influence on French painting in the 17th century cannot be overstated: he is credited with brining the Italian Baroque to France, where it captured the attention of a whole new generation of artists. 

While the identity of the sitter is unknown, Vouet captures the man with a profound empathy and spirit.  His heavy eyelids and and strong cheekbones are emphasized by the dramatic lighting, evidence of the continued popularity of Caravaggism in Rome.