The Judgement of Paris, (once used as a panel for a virginal built in the workshop of the Ruckers family in Antwerp - their ornamental decoration on the verso), oil on panel, 64 x 88 cm, framed

We are grateful to Dr Ursula Härting, Hamm, for identifying this painting as a work by Jordaens and for associating the panel with the workshop of the Ruckers family. The painting is accompanied by an in-depth certificate.

With its balanced composition and finely attuned colours, the present painting documents the leading position of Antwerp painting in Europe during the first half of the 17th Century. Dr Härting has attributed the picture to Jordaens and she compares it to cabinet panels now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam that have up to now been previously attributed to Frans Francken II, but which are likewise by the hand of Hans Jordaens III. The characteristic ornament on the reverse side of the picture has led her to conclude that Jordaens executed the panel for the famous workshop of instrument makers of the Ruckers family. At this time, the products of the Ruckers workshop, mainly harpsichords, numbered among the most cherished instruments, thanks to their remarkable and powerful sound. The elaborate decoration of these harpsichords attests to the high standing they enjoyed not only as musical instruments, but also as prestigious pieces of furniture. Jordaens’ painter colleagues Peter Paul Rubens, David Teniers II, and Frans Francken II also worked for these instrument makers. The present painting may rank among Hans Jordaens III’s most important commissions, which may account for the fact that it was formerly attributed to Jan Brueghel II and Hendrick van Balen.