Lot 120: The Calling of Saint Peter

Jan Pynas Alkmaar 1581/82-1631 Amsterdam
The Calling of Saint Peter
signed and dated 'I PYNAS 1620' (lower right)
oil on panel
14½ x 20 in. 36.8 x 50.8 in.

E. J. Dent, London.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 18 July 1941, lot 23, (10 gns. to Dr. E. I. Schapiro, London).
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 13 July 1979, lot 24.

The present, late work by Jan Pynas, signed and dated 1620, is characteristic of the artist's mature style. Little is known about Pynas' earliest training in Amsterdam before he traveled to Italy and came under the influence of Adam Elsheimer and Venetian artists such as Jacopo Tintoretto; subsequently, upon his return to the Netherlands, Pynas responded to the work of the Pre-Rembrandtists, adopting in particular Pieter Lastman's gestural language and bright palette. However, Pynas' figures are more restrained, their forms simplified, and the incidental details eliminated in order to focus the viewer's attention on the narrative itself. As in the present work, Pynas frequently depicted his protagonists in profile.