"The Hermit in the Desert: Meditation of Art"

(1623 Tönning – 1678 Friedrichstadt) Meditating Hermit in the Desert (Saint Jerome as Penitent). The 1660 dating on the present painting, with its vivid chiaroscuro effects and expressive head of the figure, coincides with Ovens’s stay in Amsterdam (1657–1663). At the same time, it serves as a reference point for categorizing Ovens’s oeuvre, as he was a significant intermediary in the transmission of art between two cultural hubs of early modern Europe: the artistic capital of Amsterdam and the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf. Ovens was part of the Dutch Golden Age but also a prominent figure in the flourishing of Gottorf in the 17th century; from 1646 until his death, he was the most important artist in the service of the Dukes of Gottorf. Through his education and connections within the circle of Rembrandt, Govert Flinck, and art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh, he received commissions from both the bourgeoisie and the nobility in the Netherlands and Schleswig-Holstein. Around 1640, Ovens came to Amsterdam, where he was likely a pupil in Rembrandt’s workshop, but also probably studied under Govert Flinck. From 1651 to 1657, Ovens lived in Schleswig-Holstein; from 1657 to 1663, he spent a six-year stay in Amsterdam, likely working in Govert Flinck’s studio. In 1663, he returned to Friedrichstadt, where he remained based, except for short trips to Hamburg and Amsterdam, until his death. Ovens primarily worked as a respected portraitist, but also as a painter of historical and allegorical subjects, as well as religious works. Stylistically, he shows the influence of Dutch and Flemish painting, less from Rembrandt than from Govert Flinck, Jan Lievens, Ferdinand Bol, and Anthony van Dyck. Oil on canvas; signed and dated: "J. Ovens / 1660 f". 111 cm x 92.5 cm. Framed. Provenance: According to an old, difficult-to-read inscription on the reverse, formerly in the collection of Gio (vanni) De Rossi (1754–1827); sold by him in 1802 to "Cardinal" Venuti; later in the collection of L. Churchill (?) and the Lüders collection (?), Berlin, until 1905; Bukowski auction, Stockholm, 11–13 October 1950, lot 170; Bukowski auction, Stockholm, 5–7 December 2000, lot 390; Dorotheum Wien auction, 5 October 2005, lot 261; Sotheby's auction, London, 10 July 2008, lot 209; Galerie Hans, Hamburg, 2011; since then in a German private collection. Literature/Exhibitions: Exhibition catalog "Schleswig-Holstein Art of the 15th–19th Centuries", Carl R. Reinher and Carl Lewinsky, Berlin, 1909/10, p. 28; Harry Schmidt: "Jürgen Ovens. His Life and Works", Kiel 1922, p. 183, no. 85; Catalog "Rembrandt’s Teacher – Sumowski’s Teacher", Kunstverein Aalen, 2019, pp. 70–73, 123–124, no. 17 (with illustration on p. 71). Documented at the Royal Institute for Art Historical Studies in The Hague under illustration number 0000180779. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left: "J. Ovens / 1660 f".