Half-Length Portrait of an Old Man
Daniël de Koninck
1683-1720
This portrait of an old man is painted on a panel of oak made of two joined planks. The joint can be seen in the middle, where there is a light vertical line with numerous wormholes. The light area is sapwood, the youngest part of the tree just under the bark. Sapwood is rarely seen in panel paintings, since this soft wood was often cut away to prevent rotting or woodworm. The panel here is therefore not of the best quality. In the top left-hand corner there is an uneven area indicating that the plank was initially split using an axe. After the two planks were glued together, the panel was planed to make it even.
SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen · Image: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Public domain · Text: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark (text: Anne Haack Christensen) (adapted), CC0