Portrait of a Gentleman in Renaissance Garb, Frans Pourbus (Bruges, 1545 – Antwerp, 1581)

Frans Pourbus (Bruges, 1545 – Antwerp, 1581) circle

Portrait of a gentleman in Renaissance attire with black doublet and ruff

Late 16th century

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

Full details of the work (click HERE)

Ancient Flemish painting, made in oil on canvas, depicting a distinguished gentleman immortalized according to the most classic Nordic tradition, in three-quarters, with his gaze intensely scrutinizing the viewer. Going into the details, one notices the meticulous but light rendering of the facial features, the sharpness of the contours underlined by the light and the extraordinary expressive power of the eyes.

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

The realization of the details and the realism with which the portrait is painted are surprising, with particular attention paid to the gaze, which almost seems to be in dialogue with the spectator.

In particular, the stylistic models easily lead us to attribute the work to an author 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 seventeenth-century Flemish civilization, son of Pieter Pourbus (1523-1584) and pupil of Frans Floris. He was the author of altarpieces but also of numerous portraits characterized 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 also be seen from the work in question, his style owes much to Italian Renaissance portraiture, even if his surfaces are more detailed and lucid, according to a style of clear Nordic ancestry.

He became the undisputed reference of 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 pleasant frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

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