The sitter was a chevalier (knight) of Saint-Louis, a military Order instituted in 1693, whose insignia is attached to his armour with red ribbon. The portrait may have been cut down from a larger one. ...

With one arm on the back of a chair & the other arm akimbo, the unknown sitter's pose evokes an impression of both confidence & ease. The artist, inspired by the Flemish tradition, has placed the sitter in front of a wall hung with drapery, with a vie ...

Leaning back & with his head turned towards the viewer, the sitter appears relaxed. The vivacity of the brushwork gives the portrait a remarkable sense of immediacy. The sitter has not been identified: his age & the date (1633) when he sat to Hals are inscribed beneath the artist's monogram. The canvas has been cut on the right edge so that the second digit of his age has been lost. ...

The sitter has sometimes been regarded as a portrait of the Bolognese poet Gerolamo Casioa whom Boltraffio befriended during his stay in that city in 1500-2 & whose sonnets contain references to the painter. Several likenesses of Casio exist by Boltraff ...

The sitter is the same as in another portrait (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), & as in an etched portrait by Godfried Schalcken, who was Dou's pupil. This picture was probably painted in about 1635-40 when Dou was in his mid-twenties. X-radiographs have revealed that the portrait was painted over another portrait head, not an uncommon practice in artists' studios at the time. ...

This portrait formerly belonged to the Avogadro Collection in Brescia & it probably represents Gerolamo Avogadro (died 1534). Dated on the step (bottom right), it is the earliest known independent life-size full-length portrait produced in Italy. The distant gaze of the sitter & the amplitude of the costume recall the tradition of Venetian portraiture as developed by Giorgione & the young Titian in the early years of the 16th century. A Saint Christopher badge is prominently displayed on the gentleman's hat. ...

The unidentified sitter is holding two pinks. This painting is the pendant to a ' Portrait of a Woman', showing an unknown lady holding lily-of-the valley, which is in the Oscar Reinhart collection, Winterthur. The two paintings may be betrothal or marriage portraits. They may originate from the Danube region. ...

The sitter has not been identified. Portraits of less than half-length, such as this, are rare in Mor's work, but this picture is not believed to be a fragment of a larger work. Mor was painter to the Spanish court at Brussels, but also painted his Netherlandish contemporaries. This portrait may have been painted when he was living in Antwerp after 1568. ...

This is one of only four signed paintings by van der Plas. The sitter, whose pilgrim's staff stands on the left & whose face looks up towards a vision of the resurrected Christ, has not been identified. The scroll below the sitter's hand may well have once carried an inscription which explained the commission. ...

Antonello's ' Portrait of a Man' is probably a relatively late work. It is likely that there was originally a parapet at the base bearing the painter's signature, but this has been removed. The picture is often thought to be a self portrait, because the direct gaze, as if painted looking in a mirror, is typical of self portraits. X-ray photographs reveal that the eyes were originally turned the other way, which may call this idea into question. Antonello was one of the first of the Italian artists to learn from Netherlandish art. The attention to detail & intensity of expression in the ' Portrait of a Man' are comparable to Netherlandish portraits. It is Antonello's mastery of oil paint which enables him to achieve these effects. ...