Portrait of a Man
by GOSSART, Jan, Oil on oak panel, 47 x 35 cm
The tightly cropped composition showing the sitter turned to the left in a three-quarter pose against a dark background derives from the tradition of Bruges portraiture, especially that of Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling. All three artists portrayed their sitters as dignified yet aloof, always highly refined and elegant, e.g. Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of a Young Man, or Hans Memling’s Portrait of Tommaso Portinari.