A Gypsy Encampment Frame:black Commissioned for the Polish Royal

Commissioned for the Polish Royal collection

This portrait has generally been regarded as a self-portrait by Jan Lievens

Feigen & Co

jade green - provide the chromatic structure of the painting

something not usually tolerated in English seventeenth-century high society

A Gypsy Encampment Frame:black Commissioned for the Polish RoyalThe title given to this painting in the Cartwright Inventory illustrates the belief, still current in the seventeenth century, that Romani people originated from Egypt (the word "gypsy" is a sixteenth century corruption of "Egypt"). The painting combines elements of the known and of the fanciful. Clearly nomadic, the travellers are surrounded by the domestic detritus associated with gypsies although the three turbaned men look distinctly oriental. A