Flemish or English school; second third of the 17th century.

Flemish or English school; second third of the seventeenth century.
"Portrait of a gentleman".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 26 x 21 cm; 41 x 36 cm (frame).
This portrait with old attribution to Van Dyck is inscribed in the tradition of the northern baroque portrait, where the sobriety, the psychological precision and the contained elegance constituted the pillars of the genre. The painting shows a young man, depicted half-length and oriented three-quarters to the left, although he gazes at the viewer with a mixture of reserve and assurance that accentuates the sensation of immediate presence. His countenance, slightly idealized but not free of individualizing features, the trimmed mustache, the lively eyes, the smoothly modeled facial oval, reveals the intention of combining social dignity and truthfulness.
The attire is one of the most eloquent elements of the composition. The white ruff, executed with fine brushstrokes that reproduce the starching and rigidity of the piece, frames the face and provides a light focus that contrasts with the dark clothing. The doublet, in black or dark brown, has light vertical bands, a decorative resource characteristic of men's fashion of the period. The chromatic economy, predominance of black, white and discreet brown tones, contributes to confer to the portrait a character of aristocratic sobriety, typical of both the Flemish and English traditions.
The technique, although direct and without excessive material saturation, reveals a careful mastery of chiaroscuro: the neutral background, blurred and barely perceptible, pushes the figure towards the pictorial surface, reinforcing the importance of the model. The slight sfumato around the contours avoids rigidity and gives the figure a softly atmospheric presence. The reduced format and the proximity of the frame suggest a piece intended for the domestic or private sphere, where it functioned as a manifestation of identity and status.