Heartland

I am hoping someone can help me identify a painting I have been talking about with a partner in crime, so to speak....

We frequent an amazing, shadowy afterhours bar in Sydney (Barons) that hasn't changed in decades. (Seems our licencing laws are much different to the UK, where everything shuts early.)

Anyway, the place is extremely dark and lit like an old den, burgundy carpet, burgundy leather sofas, dark mahogany woodwork and a few dim lamps, plus a few old reproductions on the wall. One of these is a bare looking portrait of a soldier.

The overall look of the painting is dark, the soldier is wearing a metal helmet, slightly pointed I think, and he has a waxy, yellow-y unexpressive face. The background is very bare and dark.

We think it's a Rubens, but we're not sure.

Does the description ring a bell to anyone? It's a facial portrait, not a full-length portrait. Any clues?

Your description is too vague, but based on it I suspect you may be referring to Rembrandt's "Man with the Golden Helmet".

Thanks a million - I think you could be right. Baron's is a true afterhours bar and we are usually pretty tanked by the time we get there, coupled with the fact that the place is so dimly lit and smoky, thus making it difficult to see anything very clearly. I'll be getting pi--ed there on Friday night so I'll have another look.