Dutch, 'Portrait of a Young Man in Black', about 1635-40
Full title | Portrait of a Young Man in Black |
---|---|
Artist | Dutch |
Date made | about 1635-40 |
Medium and support | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 73.8 × 58.2 cm |
Inscription summary | Inscribed |
Acquisition credit | Bequeathed by John G. Griffiths, 1923 |
Inventory number | NG3725 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
This picture by an unknown artist was once thought to portray Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, but a portrait of him in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire shows a different man. He looks out at us with a faint smile, his long, thick hair brushing his forehead and pale cheeks. His costume seems to date the portrait to the second half of the 1630s.
The portrait includes a small symbolic depiction of a tiny seated Cupid, god of love, wearing a crown. He holds an arrow, appearing to use it to pierce the flaming heart on which he sits. Below him is a Latin motto: sic puer ille manet (‘he is still young’). It’s not clear what exactly this emblematic addition refers to.
This picture by an unknown artist was once thought to portray Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, but a portrait of him in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire shows a different man. He looks out at us with a faint smile, his long, thick hair brushing his forehead and pale cheeks. His costume – the elaborate high lace collar hugging his chin, lace cuffs and the white shirt showing through the slits in his sleeves – seems to date the portrait to the second half of the 1630s.
The painting includes a small symbolic depiction of a tiny seated Cupid wearing a crown. He holds an arrow, appearing to use it to pierce the flaming heart on which he sits. Below him is a Latin motto: sic puer ille manet (‘he is still young’). It’s not clear what exactly this emblematic addition refers to.
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