The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a Man

c. 1480–1500
oil on wood
Framed: 52.5 x 38 x 5 cm (20 11/16 x 14 15/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 42.5 x 27.6 cm (16 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1963.503
Location: 113 French Tapestries & Illuminated Manuscripts

Did You Know?

The man pictured here didn't accidentally rip his coat, he is actually sporting highly fashionable slashed sleeves. Decorative openings in the sleeves of garments, revealing the rich fabric underneath, were all the rage in 15th-century society.

Description

Although the subject of this portrait wears rich clothing and a sword, nothing specifically associates him with aristocracy. Instead he may have been a wealthy member of the middle class. During the 1400s, portraiture became increasingly popular with prosperous merchants and tradesmen who imitated the portraits commissioned by the dukes of Burgundy and members of their court. The artist is equally mysterious and unidentified. The highly refined technique of oil painting suggests a familiarity with Netherlandish art, and the dark palette and clothing allude to Burgundian portraiture. However, the clothing and facial type relate more to French traditions. The artist may have hailed from France or the Low Countries, a region with a long artistic association with the Valois dukes of Burgundy who ruled the Netherlands in the late 1300s and 1400s.
  • -1963
    Frederick Mont, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1963-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1963.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 10 (1963). cat. no. 106, p. 261 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 73 archive.org
    Wixom, William D. Treasures from Medieval France. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. no. vii 21, p. 334-5 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 73 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 1. European Paintings before 1500. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: fig. 6, p. 16 -17
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
  • Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    Treasures of Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1966-January 29, 1967).
    Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Man|url=false|author=|year=c. 1480–1500|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.503