Cleveland Museum of Art

An Old Man Seated at a Table, His Head Resting on His Right Hand (recto); The Healing of Tobit (verso)

Ferdinand Bol

Date

c. 1640s–50s

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brown wash, black ink framing lines (recto); pen and brown ink (verso)

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Drawings

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ferdinand Bol was one of the most prominent pupils and followers of Rembrandt van Rijn, for whom drawing played a central role in his workshop practice and teaching. This image of a man within a darkened interior before a window—perhaps a scholar or philosopher—is similar to compositions of saints as well as portraits that Rembrandt made in the 1630s and 1640s. Bol was quite interested in the theme, portraying similar figures in at least two paintings, ten drawings, and four etchings. Like Rembrandt, he employed an expressive but controlled use of ink wash, emphasizing the psychological interiority of the sitter with dramatic shading. The verso (back) of the drawing features a quick sketch by Bol after another of Rembrandt’s compositions, Tobit Healing his Father’s Blindness, 1640–45, held today in the CMA’s collection (1969.69). Ferdinand Bol’s subtle and controlled use of ink wash reveals a large trunk on the floor, while retaining bright highlights on the figure, book, and globe on the windowsill.

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