Bidspirit auction | ADAM DE COSTER (Mechelen, 1586

ADAM DE COSTER (Mechelen, 1586 - Antwerp, 1643) Attributed - The poet - Oil on relined canvas. Dimensions: 77 x 66 cm. The work depicts the bust of a young man with shoulder-length hair holding a quill pen and a scroll or phylactery, his gaze raised in an attitude of expectation or intellectual inspiration. The scene is conceived by candlelight, the flame of which appears to the right of the composition and selectively illuminates the face and hands, a characteristic feature of Adam de Coster's painting and, more generally, of Antwerp Caravaggism. The written lines on the scroll have been deliberately left illegible, a circumstance that allows for a double iconographic interpretation of the image: either as the representation of a poet or as that of an evangelist saint at the moment of receiving divine inspiration. The composition fully embodies the nocturnal and tenebrist style associated with De Coster, one of the most prominent Flemish Caravaggisti of the 17th century, famous for his artificially lit scenes, a trait that earned him the nickname Pictor Noctium (Painter of the Night). Lot in international warehouse (within the EU). Intra-community shipment: no import duties apply within the EU. An export permit from the country of origin may be required.