Portrait Of A Gentleman In Renaissance Dress, Frans Pourbus (bruges, 1545 - Antwerp, 1581)

Frans Pourbus (Bruges, 1545 - Antwerp, 1581) circle
Portrait of a gentleman in Renaissance dress with a black doublet and ruff

Late 16th century

Oil on canvas
46 x 32 cm. - 65 x 53 cm. (frame)

Full details of the work (click HERE)

An ancient Flemish painting, oil on canvas, depicting a distinguished gentleman immortalised according to the most classic Nordic tradition, in three-quarter view, with his gaze intently scrutinising the spectator. Looking at the details, we can see the meticulous but light rendering of the facial features, the sharpness of the outlines emphasised by the light and the extraordinary expressive power of the eyes.

He is dressed in an elegant black doublet, the favourite colour of Renaissance princes, bourgeois and highly cultured intellectuals, with broad puffed shoulders, very few ornaments and enriched by a wide pleated white ruff known as a ‘mill wheel’, typical elements of fashionable clothing in the second half of the 16th century.

The attention to detail and the realism with which the portrait is painted are surprising, with particular attention paid to the gaze, which almost seems to be conversing with the viewer.

In particular, the stylistic models easily lead us to attribute it to an artist from the school of the famous portraitist Frans Pourbus the Elder (Bruges, 1545 – Antwerp, 1581), one of the most influential portraitists of his generation and a great interpreter of 17th-century Flemish civilisation, son of Pieter Pourbus (1523-1584) and pupil of Frans Floris. He was an author of altarpieces but also of numerous portraits characterised by their sobriety, with elegant and uniform tones, halfway between Adriaen Thomasz Key (Antwerp, 1544 - 1589) and Anthonis Moor van Dashorts (Utrecht 1519 - Antwerp 1576).

As can be seen from the work in question, his style owes much to Italian Renaissance portraiture, even if his surfaces are more detailed and glossy, in a style clearly of Nordic influence.

He became the undisputed reference point for this art, renowned for his extraordinary talent as a painter and for his ability to transpose the psychological acuity of his models onto canvas.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is sold complete with a tasteful frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card.

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