Portrait of a Man

Follower of Jean Siméon Chardin

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the chest up, a pale-skinned, clean-shaven man wearing a cloth wrapped around his head looks at us in this vertical painting. The man’s shoulders are angled to our right, but he turns his round face to us to gaze out of the corners of his blue eyes under furrowed brows. His head tips slightly to our right, and his pink lips are parted. He has a rounded nose, full checks, and a slight double chin. The cloth wrapped around his head is white striped with pale blue. He wears a coral-orange and white neckerchief tied in a knot at his throat and a slate-blue collarless jacket. The background is pale, asparagus-green near his face and deepens to moss green at the edges. There are some white or light blue streaks and spots where paint has been lost or damaged.