Flemish, 'Portrait of a Man', 1636

An unidentified young man looks out at us with a direct gaze. Painted by an unknown artist, he is shown leaning against a stone archway that is partly covered with a swathe of white satin curtain. In the distance there is a tower and the suggestion of a hilly landscape.

The young man’s youth is emphasised by his sparse moustache and wisp of a beard, yet his bearing is confident and he seems at his ease in his fine clothes. His cuffs and fashionable falling collar are made of expensive lace and the small tassels hanging at his neck are made of silver thread. The brim of an enormous hat encircles his long face. His mouth is full, his fair eyebrows arched. He holds a pair of leather gloves – another expensive luxury – in one hand; with the other, he gestures as if inviting us in towards him.

At this time in the Southern Netherlands, a wedding ring could be worn on your finger of choice, and the young man here has chosen to display his ring ostentatiously, as if for a purpose. Perhaps the gloves have a purpose too. A pair of them could also be a symbol of marriage, often as a gift to the bride from her husband. Beside the young man is a stone relief that shows one cupid, his arrow raised to strike a second, blindfolded cupid. The scene symbolises the triumph of ‘Divine Love’ over ‘Earthly Love’ and makes it likely, together with the ring and the gloves, that the portrait was painted to celebrate the sitter’s betrothal or marriage.