(Haarlem c. 1627–1697 Amsterdam)
Saint Helena Carrying the True Cross of Christ,
oil on canvas, 101 x 87.6 cm, framed

Provenance:

Formerly in a Spanish private collection

The present painting comes with a report by Peter van den Brink (April 2014). Peter van den Brink writes: ’The present painting is by the hand of Jan de Bray of Haarlem, the eldest son of the painter Salomon de Bray […]. Like his father Salomon, Jan de Bray evolved into an excellent history painter, portraitist, and architect and in his later years became one of the most famous artists in Haarlem during the second half of the 17th century. The present painting is presumably an early work executed between 1651 and 1661 […].’

Van den Brink compares the present composition to early works by Jan de Bray, such as the Banquet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra from 1652 in the Royal Collection in London. Some of the profiles betray conspicuous similarities that cannot be overlooked, while the rendering of the drapery and the hands is also extremely similar. Jan de Bray repeatedly painted individual figures of saints, such as King David in Prayer from 1662 (which appeared on the London art market in 1921). The present depiction of the holy Empress Helena, shown with the True Cross of Christ discovered by her, is a typical portrait historié by Jan de Bray.