Abraham Brahe 1669 - 1728

This is Abraham Brahe, painted by David Teniers the Younger, likely sometime in the 17th century, with oil on canvas. The inherent qualities of oil paint – its capacity to blend, to carry pigment, and to be applied in thin glazes – are all on display. Teniers exploits these properties to create a convincing likeness, and to evoke the textures of skin, hair, lace, and burnished metal. Notice especially the way that light catches the armor; Teniers doesn't just depict these surfaces, but also the labor involved in their making, from the mining of ore to the work of the armorer. And of course, consider the labor involved in the making of the portrait itself. A work like this could only be commissioned by someone with the financial resources to pay for the artist's time, and to signal their own status. By attending to these material dimensions, we can better understand the social life of art.