Attributed to Antonio Moro

Attributed to ANTONIO MORO (Utrecht, between 1516 and 1520 - Antwerp?, 1575/1576).
"Portrait of a gentleman", 1563.
Oil on oak panel. Cradled and brushed.
It has a 17th century frame in Dutch style.
It has restorations.
Dated in the upper right area.
Provenance: Marquises of Camarasa.
Measurements: 48 x 37 cm; 66 x 54 cm (frame).
The portrait presented here is a masterpiece of the portrait painting of the sixteenth century, attributed to Antonio Moro, Flemish painter famous for his ability to capture with psychological and technical precision the physiognomy of his models. The painting stands out for the sobriety of its composition, where the dark background highlights the face of the sitter, emphasizing his presence and expressiveness. The piece is dated 1563, a time when Moro was in Flanders carrying out numerous commissions for Spanish personalities established in the territory.
The figure, dressed in a severe black costume of Spanish influence, is distinguished by his meticulously worked lace golilla, a sign of his high social status. The directed lighting emphasizes the volumes of the face, enhancing the modeling of the skin and the intensity of the gaze. Moro's meticulous brushwork, influenced by the Flemish tradition, is evident in the texture of the beard and the delicacy of the folds of the lace.
This portrait is a paradigmatic example of the role that painting played at the court and among the nobility of the time. Antonio Moro, as court painter to Philip II, played a fundamental role in consolidating the image of power through portraiture. His style, of great technical precision and expressive richness, profoundly influenced Spanish portraiture, establishing a model that would be followed by artists such as Alonso Sánchez Coello and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.
Beyond its representative function, the portrait transcends the simple physical record of the model to delve into his psychology. The gaze of the sitter conveys a mixture of introspection and authority, suggesting his character and position in the society of his time. In this sense, the work is not only a testimony to the painter's technical virtuosity, but also a visual document of 16th century court culture.
Antonio Moro was the court painter of Charles I and Philip II and his language and style determined the development of courtly portraiture in 16th century Spain. Born Anton van Dashorst Mor, Antonio Moro worked in the Southern Netherlands and also in Spain, Italy, Portugal and England. He trained in his native Utrecht as a disciple of Jan van Scorel, whose assistant he became in 1540. According to Karel van Mander, Moro traveled to Italy during his youth, and there he was able to spend three years before returning to Utrecht in 1544. In 1547 he was admitted as a master in the Guild of St. Luke in Antwerp, although he preferred to reside in his hometown. The following year he would attract the attention of his first important patron, Antonio Perrenot de Granvela, bishop of Arras and member of the court of Charles V. His portraits made between 1549 and 1550 already reveal an innovative style that would replace the oldest portrait traditions, combining Flemish precision with Italian models. Particularly important in his language would be the influence of Titian, which he brought to him through the works of the Venetian that existed in the collections of Granvela and Maria of Hungary, regent of the Netherlands. Moro's mature style will be characterized by the steely precision of Nordic heritage, the muted colors, the detail in the fabrics, folds and qualities, a simplified lighting generally on the left side and a neutral background that enhances the monumental isolation of the figure, which is usually three-quarter or full-length and fills the entire height of the pictorial plane. His career experienced the definitive impulse when he was presented by Granvela to Philip II; since then Moro will work the royal and courtly portrait in the Dutch and Spanish courts, so that his style will exert an important influence throughout Europe and, above all, in the Iberian Peninsula, where he had numerous disciples and followers. Among them were Alonso Sánchez Coello, Jorge de la Rúa, Manuel Denis, Cristóbal de Morales and Sofonisba Anguissola. In 1550 he was sent by Maria of Hungary to Lisbon to paint the Portuguese royal family, and especially Maria of Portugal, the fiancée of Philip II. On the way he painted his first official portrait of Emperor Maximilian II, probably in Augsburg. Probably from there he continued his journey in the retinue of Philip II, who was then in the Netherlands. He arrived in Spain in 1551, and there he painted Philip II's sister and her first daughter, Maria of Austria, with her husband Maximilian II. The following year he worked at the Lisbon court, and finally in 1553 he returned to Brussels only to go to London, where he was sent to portray Philip II's wife after the wedding. That same year of 1554 he was officially appointed painter to Philip II and moved to the court of Brussels, where he remained until 1559. After a brief stay in Spain Moro returned to Brussels in 1561, after having painted some of his best portraits in Toledo and Madrid. In the following years he continued to work with Granvela and also with the court of Margaret of Parma and the Duke of Alba, governor of the Netherlands. Also, in 1570 he portrayed the fourth wife of Philip II, Anne of Austria. During these years he also painted important aristocrats and bourgeoisie, applying attitudes and compositions of his court portraits.