Date : near 1509
Material : Oil painting on wood
Acquisition : Gift of John J. Glessner (1894)
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European Painting
Painting (Portrait)
Area related
Neitherlands
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| Description |  |
In the early sixteenth century, Antwerp experienced remarkable growth as a commercial center, and Massys was one of the most important and innovative of its many painters. In this relatively early and rather damaged portrait, he followed convention by employing an immobile pose, barely allowing the man's hands to appear above the sill of the picture frame. Yet Massys's boldness as a painter is evident in the atmospheric modeling of the face to convey a strong sense of individual character. The pink, or carnation, held by the sitter could refer to matrimony or to Christ's incarnation.
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