Portrait of a Man (Velazquez)
Encyclopedia
Portrait of a Man is an oil painting
measuring 27 × 21 in. (68.6 × 55.2 cm) by Diego Velázquez
, painted c. 1630. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City. Long the subject of uncertainty regarding its authorship, it has recently been re-attributed to Velázquez.
Portrait of a Man once belonged to Count Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn
, the illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain
. The painting was subsequently owned by Joseph Duveen, who sold it to Jules Bache
in 1926 for $1.125 million, with the understanding that it was a genuine Velázquez. Bache bequeathed the painting to the Metropolitan Museum in 1949. Darkened and discolored by varnish, the painting was restored and cleaned in 1953 and 1965, yet was in the 1960s attributed by a scholar as being painted by the workshop of Velázquez, a judgment with which the museum concurred in 1979. As a result of its most recent cleaning in 2009 by Michael Gallagher of the museum's conservation department, murky greenish tones were revealed to be gray, fine details of brushwork and long-obscured vibrancy of color were discovered, leading the museum to restore the traditional attribution to Velázquez. In the words of art historian Jonathan Brown, the country's leading authority on Velázquez, "One glance was all it took....The picture has been under my nose all my life. It's a fantastic discovery. It suddenly emerges Cinderella-like."
The painting was done from life with an informal handling, and Duveen may have had it retouched to appear more "old masterish". The portrait closely resembles that of a figure at the far right of Surrender of Breda, also by Velázquez, which was painted to memorialize a victory by Spain over the Dutch. It is possible, though uncertain, that both portraits are self-representations by the artist.
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
measuring 27 × 21 in. (68.6 × 55.2 cm) by Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
, painted c. 1630. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City. Long the subject of uncertainty regarding its authorship, it has recently been re-attributed to Velázquez.
Portrait of a Man once belonged to Count Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn
Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn
Johann Ludwig Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn was a German lieutenant-general and art collector.-Life:He was an illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain by his mistress Amalie von Wallmoden...
, the illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. The painting was subsequently owned by Joseph Duveen, who sold it to Jules Bache
Jules Bache
Jules Semon Bache was a German-born American banker, art collector and philanthropist.-Biography:Born in Germany, as a young boy his family emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. In 1881, he started work as a cashier at Leopold Cahn & Co., a stockbrokerage firm founded by his...
in 1926 for $1.125 million, with the understanding that it was a genuine Velázquez. Bache bequeathed the painting to the Metropolitan Museum in 1949. Darkened and discolored by varnish, the painting was restored and cleaned in 1953 and 1965, yet was in the 1960s attributed by a scholar as being painted by the workshop of Velázquez, a judgment with which the museum concurred in 1979. As a result of its most recent cleaning in 2009 by Michael Gallagher of the museum's conservation department, murky greenish tones were revealed to be gray, fine details of brushwork and long-obscured vibrancy of color were discovered, leading the museum to restore the traditional attribution to Velázquez. In the words of art historian Jonathan Brown, the country's leading authority on Velázquez, "One glance was all it took....The picture has been under my nose all my life. It's a fantastic discovery. It suddenly emerges Cinderella-like."
The painting was done from life with an informal handling, and Duveen may have had it retouched to appear more "old masterish". The portrait closely resembles that of a figure at the far right of Surrender of Breda, also by Velázquez, which was painted to memorialize a victory by Spain over the Dutch. It is possible, though uncertain, that both portraits are self-representations by the artist.