Attributed to Jean de Reyn
Spanish Netherlands, Kingdom of France · Baroque, Flemish Baroque
The story
This entry is not a person. It stands for the 'attributed to Jean de Reyn' that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston places on the Lute Player. The words mean the curators think de Reyn the likeliest painter but have no signature or document to prove it.
Jean de Reyn was born around 1610 on the Flemish coast, in Bergues by some accounts and in Dunkirk by others, two towns a few miles apart. Old accounts say he trained with Anthony van Dyck in Antwerp and followed him to England. He spent the rest of his career in Dunkirk, painting altarpieces for its churches and portraits of its merchants. The town changed hands several times in his lifetime, and in 1662 Charles II of England sold it to Louis XIV of France, so he died a French subject, in May 1678. Pictures are given to him mainly on grounds of style, which is why this one carries a hedge.
