Portrait of a Man

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Portrait of a Man
French school; ca. 1730

The bust of a young man is shown against a dark background in an oval picture. The shoulders are turned left, the face right, and this compositional S-curve emphasizes the dynamism of the figure. He seems to have been amazed and arrested in a sudden movement, and this spontaneity made it easier for the artist to provide an intimate portrait.

The wide open eyes which are looking to the right, somewhere behind the artist, and the ironic smile evince his jaunty character. The natural flesh colour is tinted red in the shadow, and green on the left lighted side of the face. This modulation of warm and cold tones is the simplified heritage of Rubens's art in 18th c.