Circle of Peter Lely; s. XVII.

Circle of PETER LELY (1618-1680); England, last third of the 17th century.
"Portrait of a Gentleman.
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn in the 19th century.
Size: 77 x 66 cm.
In this panel the artist offers us a male portrait of great psychological depth, sparing in accessory effects and endowed with deep expressiveness. The format, as well as the sitter's clothing, are typical of the genre of 17th-century portraiture. Thus, we see the bust-length figure in the foreground, standing out against a neutral, dark background, directly illuminated by a light that falls on his face and leaves the rest in semi-darkness, creating an expressive play of light and shadow on which the painter relies to model the facial features.
Aesthetically the work is very close to the painting of Peter Lely who, although of Dutch origin, spent most of his career in England, where he became the dominant court portraitist. He became a naturalised British subject and was knighted in 1679. Lely studied painting in Haarlem, where he may have been apprenticed to Pieter de Grebber, and became master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem in 1637. He arrived in London around 1643. His early English paintings, mainly religious mythological scenes, or portraits set in a pastoral landscape, show influences of Anthony van Dyck and the Dutch Baroque.
Lely's portraits were well received and he succeeded Anthony van Dyck. As the most fashionable portraitist in England. He became a freeman of the Painter-Stainers' Company in 1647 and was portrait painter to Charles I. His talent ensured that his career was not interrupted by Charles's execution, and he served Oliver Cromwell.There may be thousands of these portraits, ranging from rare first-rate originals, often of astonishing quality, to crude studio replicas by assistants trained to imitate Lely's style. Lely played an important role in the introduction of mezzotint in Britain, realising its potential for publicising his portraits.