Portrait of a Young Man
Shown from the chest up, a young man with a plump, pale-skinned face hooks one elbow over the back of a wooden chair and looks at us in this vertical portrait painting. The man’s body faces our right as he turns his head over his right shoulder, closer to us, to gaze out with brown eyes under lifted brows. His nose ends with a round bump, and his round cheeks are flushed. He has a wispy mustache over full pink lips, which are parted. He wears a tall-crowned, brimmed black hat over a cloud of wavy, shoulder-length black hair. A lace-edged white collar spreads over an ink-black, satin coat. His right elbow is planted across the back of the chair, which has carved finials to either side. That hand is closed in a fist, which may hold something. The man’s hat casts a shadow on the right side of the taupe-gray wall behind him, where the artist has signed the painting with two monograms of his initials, “HF.” The brushwork is loose throughout, especially so in the man’s clothing.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 68 x 55.4 cm (26 3/4 x 21 13/16 in.) framed: 103.2 x 91.4 x 14.6 cm (40 5/8 x 36 x 5 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CNE-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Individual Portrait Both · 99%
The National Gallery of Art identifies the work as a portrait, and the image centers on one sitter presented from the chest up.
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Face Visual · 99%
The sitter’s face is the primary focal point, with clearly rendered eyes, brows, nose, mouth, cheeks, and mustache.
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Eye Contact Visual · 96%
The sitter looks outward toward the viewer, creating a direct visual exchange.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
Deep blacks and other dark tones dominate the hat, hair, coat, and surrounding areas, contrasting with the pale face and white collar.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The supplied catalog records the medium as oil on canvas.
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Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Both · 98%
The catalog explicitly describes the brushwork as loose, especially in the clothing, and the image shows broad, readily visible strokes in the garments, hair, collar, and chair.
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Chiaroscuro Visual · 87%
The illuminated face and collar are set against dark clothing and a subdued background, producing pronounced tonal contrast.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the painting to 1646/1648, placing it in the seventeenth century.
Furniture and Lighting
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Chair Both · 96%
A wooden chair is visible at the lower edges and supports the sitter’s bent arm; the catalog identifies it as part of the setting.
Source & rights
Frans Hals. Portrait of a Young Man. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.