Ellen Poulsen, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Jens Juel no. 47, reproduced p. 39 (here wrongly noted that the painting measures 34×39 cm).

Exhibited: The National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle, “Hvis engle kunne male... Jens Juels portrætkunst”, 1996, no. 8 mentioned and reproduced p. 142. Here, CC writes the following about the present painting: The painting of the man with the turban, which at one point was called a “self-portrait”, is a depiction of a character's head made during Juel’s time at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. It is dramatically lit with a “Caravaggio” effect, which was considered rather old-fashioned in the second half of the eighteenth century. Similar lighting effects are known from his time in Hamburg, but these effects were also used by the painter Johan Hörner in Copenhagen. In Hamburg, Juel may have studied the work of the local portrait painter Domenicus van der Smissen (1704–1760), a student of Balthasar Denner.

Literature: “Kunst i Privateje”, 1945, vol. II, mentioned p. 214 (here mistakenly called a self-portrait).

Provenance: The collection of Baron Preben Bille-Brahe-Selby, his estate auction, Winkel & Magnussen auction 112, 1932 no. 33, here acquired by merchant Chr. V. Jacobsen (1945). Mrs Margrethe Jacobsen's estate auction, Bruun Rasmussen auction 141, 1962 no. 398, reproduced p. 77. Here acquired by the present owner's family.