Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen the Elder (1593–1661)
Study of the Hands of a Lady of the Raphoen Family, 1646 or before
Black and white chalk on blue paper
7 1/2 × 11 5/8 in. (19 × 29.5 cm)
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Although hands play a major part in enlivening and conveying expression in Van Dyck’s portraits, very few of his hand studies survive. This sheet is among a group of carefully worked-out drawings that were formerly thought to be by him but have now been reattributed to Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen, a Dutch portraitist who had a successful career in London until he was overshadowed in the 1630s by Van Dyck’s arrival. This drawing dates from after his return to Holland in 1643 and is preparatory to a painting of a member of the Raphoen family in Amsterdam, as the artist’s inscription in Dutch ("Miss Raphune") indicates.