Seated Man Reading, Facing Right  1690

A characteristic of many of the men and women in Dusart’s work is their ugliness. Here the artist has been a little kinder: this young man may not be an Adonis, but his limbs and his body are all in the right place, and he has a friendly face. His clothes are simple, but there are no patches or frayed edges. And while he may not be rich, he is no one’s fool: he can read.