Il ritrovato ritratto dell’arciduca Alberto VII di Pieter Paul Rubens: confronto diagnostico e iconografico con la ritrattistica rubensiana

Indagini diagnostiche su un ritrovato ritratto in tela da testa di Peter Paul Rubens eseguito durante il soggiorno italiano (1600-1608).The rediscovered Portrait of the Archduke Albert VII by Pieter Paul Rubens has been investigated. The stylistic examination allows to date the small oil on canvas within the first decade of the 17th century, when Rubens stayed in Italy. Some of the most significant characteristics of the painting technique are: the inhomogeneous grey imprimatura, the use of dead colouring, the circular ductus on the flesh tone and the presence of lead-tin-antimony yellow. The iconographic typology, however, suggests that the portrait was made from memory, probably as a test of portraiture skill and proof of references. The result of the diagnostic analyses has been compared with the pictorial technique used by Rubens for several portraits: in particular, the Portrait of the Archduke Albert VII seems to be the pendant of the Portrait of a Lady rediscovered by Burchard in 1941