Four Studies of a Male Head

Peter Paul Rubens

about 1617–1620

Oil on panel, Oil

J. Paul Getty Museum

Four studies of Black men's heads are depicted in profile against a dark, textured background. Each man wears a simple white garment. Four studies of Black men's heads are depicted in profile against a dark, textured background. Each man wears a simple white garment. Skillfully copying a study by Peter Paul Rubens, this unknown artist, probably an assistant in Rubens's studio, explored a variety of facial expressions and poses while retaining the liveliness and immediacy of Rubens's original sketch. Using a single dim source of light, he created strong contrasts of brightness and shadow on the man's skin, varying these along with the different expressions. He aptly captured Rubens's great achievement--the three-dimensional quality of his modeling and the pulsating