Flemish, 'Portrait of a Man', probably 1645-55

This is a good example of the problems we encounter when the provenance – the history of a painting – is lost. The picture was bequeathed to the National Gallery in 1900 but we have no record of earlier owners, nor of the name of the sitter or artist, nor of the date. It’s hard even to be sure where it was made; similar portraits were produced throughout the Low Countries in the early to mid-seventeenth century. Until the 1950s, it was thought to be Dutch, but it is now believed that the style of painting suggests it probably comes from Flanders.

Another reason for these uncertainties is that the portrait itself has relatively few clues. The background is dark and extremely plain – all that is identifiable is a green curtain in a swag across the left-hand side. We do know that the sitter must have been a man of some status, since this is a large and expensive painting. And his dress does help us narrow down the date. The black coat with the simple, straight-edged collar and cuffs is in the French style of the 1650s, which was also popular in the Low Countries.

We can make other educated guesses, too. This man seems to be at least in his forties – there are signs of grey in his hair and heavy shadows under his slightly rheumy eyes. It’s likely that he is, or was, married, but this picture was almost certainly not designed to hang as one of a pair of portraits of husband and wife. Such works were commonly made to hang together, with the figures turned towards each other; the husband was invariably placed to the left, looking towards his wife, turning the opposite way to the man here. This picture is all about the sitter, and was probably designed as a single portrait.

The pose also tells us something about how he wanted to be perceived. By looking away from us and turning his head towards the light, he presents his features in the most flattering way – only his tufted goatee makes a slightly awkward shadow on his collar – and creates a sense of calm, perhaps superior, detachment. The hands are also placed carefully. One points, a typical gesture in portraits, and is suspended in front of him. The other, with which he holds a pair of leather gloves, seems to be resting on something, the arm of a chair or the top of a cane perhaps. This is a man at ease with himself and his position in society.