Attributed to Luis Tristán

Attributed to LUIS TRISTÁN LUIS TRISTÁN (Toledo?, 1580/85 - Toledo, 1624).
"Portrait of a gentleman", c. 1613.
Oil on panel.
Inscribed "1613", located in the upper right area.
It has Repainting and restorations.
It has damage on the board caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 48 x 34 cm; 61,5 x 47 cm (frame).
In this sober portrait, the artist presents us with a protagonist, who looks directly at the viewer with a serious and haughty gesture. It seems that only the face and the white collar belong to the artist's work, since the rest of the body blends in with the dark background. A work of vibrant character, which forms a bearded face of truthful features, and a pristine white neck, composed of spots applied with furious strokes of the brush. This piece is reminiscent in its aesthetic conception to the work that belongs to the collection of the Prado Museum, "Portrait of an old man", attributed to Luis Tristán. Although the characters differ in age, the conception of both works has great similarities, as a clear inheritance of El Greco's painting. Although it should be noted that in this case, the artist uses a direct focus of light that falls directly on the face of the protagonist.

Luis Tristán, one of the most outstanding representatives of the Toledo school of the early seventeenth century. A disciple of El Greco and Ribera in Italy, he returned to Toledo for good in 1613. His style, thanks to the heterogeneous nature of his training, is very varied, almost contradictory at times. The strong influence of El Greco will always remain in his work, especially in the elongation and expressive instability of his figures, but his direct knowledge of Caravaggism in Rome, precisely during its peak, is reflected in a naturalism especially evident in some of his works. Tristan seems to lean towards one way or another at specific moments, either by his own decision or by imposition of the clientele. Likewise, the study of Venetian compositions can be appreciated in his language, although the clearest influence in his work is determined by the paintings that Juan Bautista Maíno left in Toledo, especially the "Portrait of the Four Easters" from the church of San Pedro Mártir, which combines Roman naturalism with sumptuous color. All this is reflected in works such as the set that Tristan made in 1616 for the parish church of Yepes. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum, the El Greco Museum in Toledo, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Cambridge Museum, the Pollock House in Glasgow, the Fine Arts Museums of Budapest, Caracas, Bucharest and Seville, the Cathedral of Toledo and other temples in the region, the Santa Cruz Museum and the Archbishop's Palace in Toledo, the Royal Palace in Madrid and other collections and museums.