Jump to navigation Jump to content Jump to contact Jump to search Jump to search Jump to footer

Portrait of a Man

around 1630 | Anthonis van Dyck

It is typical of van Dyck to capture the psychological state of a sitter: although the richness and texture of the sitter’s clothing are so vividlyrendered, what really fixes the viewer’s attention is the young man’s melancholic facial expression, a disposition further evoked by the way he gently places his hand against his breast. In this work van Dyck uses mostly black, white and skin tones, a restricted colour palette that is subtly if barely broken by the slits of bright red which peep through the man’s doublet. The choice of colour scheme gives this well-to-do young man an air of dignity and aloofness.

It is typical of van Dyck to capture the psychological state of a sitter: although the richness and texture of the sitter’s clothing are so vividlyrendered, what really fixes the viewer’s attention is the young man’s melancholic facial expression, a disposition further evoked by the way he gently places his hand against his breast. In this work van Dyck uses mostly black, white and skin tones, a restricted colour palette that is subtly if barely broken by the slits of bright red which peep through the man’s doublet. The choice of colour scheme gives this well-to-do young man an air of dignity and aloofness.

Artist:
Anthonis van Dyck (1599 Antwerpen - 1641 London) DNB

Time:
around 1630

Object Name
Painting

Culture
Flemish

Material/technology:
Canvas

Dimensions:
111 cm × 85 cm
Framed: 138 cm × 111 cm × 8 cm

Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie

Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 509

Provenance
1720 documented in the gallery

Browse more

Similar items you might be interested in