SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The Flemish painter Justus Sustermans (1597–1681), originally from Antwerp, spent much of his life in Florence, where he became official portraitist at the Medici court. According to the consulted biography, he first trained in Antwerp with Villem de Vos, then in the workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger. He worked for the Medici for a long time and painted several portraits of Vittoria della Rovere, wife of Ferdinand II de’ Medici, among others. His work also took him to Mantua, where he made portraits for Duke Ferdinand I Gonzaga; the source also attributes to him a portrait of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, held in the Uffizi.
The biography mentions three portraits of Galileo executed by Sustermans: one is held at the Palazzo Pitti, while an effigy commissioned for the Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence is now in London. History painting is also represented in his work by The Banquet of Cleopatra, listed among his compositions in this genre.
A portrait identified as a work by Sustermans depicts Vittoria della Rovere holding a broken pearl necklace. Painted in oil on relined canvas, it measures 82.3 × 63 cm. The accompanying commentary cautiously suggests that the duchess may be represented as Saint Mary Magdalene and interprets her jewellery as a vanitas motif. Another known version, measuring 68 × 52 cm and more tightly cropped, may be a preparatory study for this painting.
This profile brings together identity references for Justus Sustermans and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Lempertz · Genève Enchères · DognyAuction · Dobiaschofsky
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on canvas
Vittoria della Rovere, Großherzogin von Toskana (1622-1694), eine zerrissene Perlenkette in der Hand haltend
Öl auf Leinwand
Auction date : 2023-05-20
Published result : 18900 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 15000
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Oil on canvas
Portrait de Vittoria della Rovere, grande duchesse de Toscane, épouse de Ferdinand II de Médicis
huile sur toile
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on canvas
Kopie - Copy
Öl auf Leinwand
Attribution ou qualification signalée dans le catalogue
Catalogue period : 2023-05-12
Attribution recorded in catalogue
Published result : 550 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1000
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Oil on panel
D’après Justus Sustermans — Portrait de Galilée
huile sur panneau
D'après
Catalogue period : 2018-04-25
After
Published result : 1500 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1500–2000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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