К вопросу о возможных иконографических прототипах «Портрета Жанны Кефер» Фернана Кнопфа

Abstract

Methodologically based on the principles of comparative iconographic and stylistic analysis, this article is devoted to the problem of establishing possible prototypes of Fernand Khnopff’s Portrait of Jeanne Kéfer, one of the most significant works created by the master in 1885, now included in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Taking into account the historiographic aspect of studying the portrait of Jeanne Kéfer and the current scientific approaches by modern researchers of Belgian Symbolism to the analysis of Khnopff’s portrait concept, the authors of the article put forward a hypothesis according to which in the process of creating the work in question (in addition to photographs, automatons or porcelain dolls, which are most often mentioned by researchers) individual paintings by the masters of the golden age of Dutch and Flemish art could have served as an iconographic prototype. The portrait of Jeanne Kéfer, as well as a number of other children’s portraits created by the artist in 1880–1890s, is compared, in particular, with the works by Gerard ter Borch the Younger, Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck, and Cornelis de Vos. To prove the assumptions put forward, the authors of the article give examples of the sources that Khnopff could potentially use, namely, the publications in periodicals, catalogues and private collections. The study also highlights that taking into account the actualization of the discourse of historical and cultural memory, which took place in Belgium in the second half of the 19th century, and the need for an ideological rethinking of the national origins of Belgian visual culture, the appeal of Khnopff, as well as of other masters of Belgian Symbolism, to the artistic heritage of the 17th century is quite possible and justified.