Portrait of a Gentleman

A long bust of a young manwith a gaunt face bearing a moustache and goatee, large dark, almond-shaped eyes and a long, thin nose. His short, dark hair brings out his pale complexion. He is dressed in black, with a short ruff collar, and the lapels and collar of his outer garment suggest it is a sort of cassock, although the lack of definition in the sleeves prevents any greater specificity. The background is of a greenish-ochre color. The canvas is quite worn but it is still possible to appreciate the painter’s versatility in adapting his brushstrokes to the different qualities of the areas he depicts: multiple narrow touches for the hair, a wider brush for the sinuous ruff collar and a very pure white, applied in impastos, for some of the folds. The face corresponds to the 1580s, as the artist uses very little crimson, preferring a very subtle application of minute touches of luminous orange and pink with the point of the brush. This can be seen in the careful final definition of the left eye, which differs considerably from the blurrier and less-defined right eye. The fine resolution of the ear, nose, beard or goatee offer an idea of the artist’s approach (Text drawn from Ruiz, L.: El Greco en el Museo Nacional del Prado, Catálogo razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2007, pp. 189-191).

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

(Museum: Museo del Prado)