Jan Gossaert
(c. 1478 - 1532)
 

Jan Gossaert was a French-speaking painter from the Low Countries also known as Jan Mabuse (the name he adopted from his birthplace, Maubeuge) or Jennyn van Hennegouwe (Hainaut), as he called himself when he matriculated in the Guild of Saint Luke, at Antwerp, in 1503. He was one of the first painters of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting to visit Italy and Rome, which he did in 1508–09, and a leader of the style known as Romanism, which brought elements of Italian Renaissance painting to the north, sometimes with a rather awkward effect. He achieved fame across at least northern Europe, and painted religious subjects, including large altarpieces, but also portraits and mythological subjects, including some nudity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Gossaert

Portrait of a man, possible self-portrait
c. 1525
Oil on panel
43 x 31 cm
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire
https://collections.currier.org/objects-1/info/252

 

The identity of the man pictured in this portrait has been the subject of considerable debate. The sitter’s neutral attire, which does not immediately associate him with the nobility or the church, has prompted some art historians to speculate that he was a successful painter.1 Others have suggested that the painting is a self-portrait of Gossaert;2 however, it is impossible to determine this with certainty, since only a few vague likenesses of the artist are known.3 The large badge affixed underneath the brim of the man’s hat resembles similar badges found in several other portraits of prosperous gentlemen and aristocrats painted by Gossaert in the same period.4 In spite of the uncertainty regarding the sitter’s identity, it is clear that Portrait of a Man depicts an individual of elevated status and considerable prestige.

 

Portrait of hendrik iii count of Nassau Breda
Posted on July 11th.