Flemish school; early 17th century.

Flemish school; early seventeenth century.
"Portrait of a gentleman".
Oil on oak panel. Cradled.
Repainting.
Brushed board.
Measurements: 104 x 82 cm; 116 x 93 cm (frame).
An uncovered hand resting on green velvet and the other gloved evidences the quality of this portrait. The delicacy of the treatment of the hands, in addition to the light and delicate way in which the ruff has been painted and the naturalistic truthfulness of the face of the protagonist. Upright facing the viewer, although slightly turned, as is usual in court portraits of the time, the protagonist is shown before the viewer with great dignity. Only the table on which his hand rests is part of the ornamentation of this work, which stands out for its austerity, not only visible in the neutral background but also in the figure of the protagonist himself, dressed in rigorous black, with only the color of the gloves and the ruff standing out. Few elements, but of great effectiveness, since they indicate that this is a character of great social relevance belonging to a high social class. The face's small brushstrokes reveal not only technical mastery, but also the artist's interest in capturing the psychology of the protagonist. Portraiture was one of the most important genres in 17th century Flemish painting. In the capture of the personality of this gentleman or aristocrat that we show, the teaching of masters such as Rembrandt or Frans Hals is ratified. The technical quality, the realism and the veracity of the protagonist's face bring the work closer to the style of the Flemish school. A school in which the portrait, both individual and group, and even the character, tried to embody the relationships of the individual with society, thus popularizing its creation. This genre comprises a third of the total production of the Flemish school.
In the 17th century, the panorama of European portraiture was varied and broad, with numerous influences and largely determined by the taste of both the clientele and the painter himself. However, in this century a new concept of portraiture was born, which would evolve throughout the century and unify all the national schools: the desire to capture the personality of the human being and his character, beyond his external reality and his social rank, in his effigy. During the previous century, portraiture had become consolidated among the upper classes, and was no longer reserved only for the court. For this reason, the formulas of the genre, as the seventeenth century progressed and even more so in the eighteenth century, would relax and move away from the ostentatious and symbolic official representations typical of the Baroque apparatus. On the other hand, the eighteenth century will react against the rigid etiquette of the previous century with a more human and individual conception of life, and this will be reflected in all areas, from the furniture that becomes smaller and more comfortable, replacing the large gilded and carved furniture, to the portrait itself, which will come to dispense, as we see here, of any symbolic or scenographic element to capture the individual instead of the character.