Artwork
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a Man is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Samuel Hoffmann. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Portrait of a Man is a 1715 oil painting by Samuel Hoffmann, featuring a somber, bearded older man set against a dark background, now part of the collection at Statens Museum for Kunst.
Subject & Meaning
The subject, an older man with a white beard and mustache, is depicted in formal attire, including a dark coat, white shirt with lace collar, and a gold chain, conveying an air of dignity and status.
Technique & Style
Hoffmann employed chiaroscuro, a technique emphasizing strong contrasts between light and dark, to draw attention to the subject's face, a common artistic device of the time.
History & Provenance
Created in 1715, the painting is currently housed at the Statens Museum for Kunst, with no detailed provenance provided in available records.
Context
The work reflects 18th-century European portraiture trends, where the use of dark backgrounds to highlight subjects was a prevalent artistic choice.
Artist & collection
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a man
Portrait of a Man
Bildnis eines bejahrten Mannes
L'Archevêque Camille de Neuville de Villeroy
Portrait of Philippe Roettiers (c.1640-1718)
Portrait of an Elderly Man
Portrait of a Young Bachelor
Selbstbildnis
Self-portrait
Portrait of Jacques Lemercier (1585-1654), Lemercier's Sorbonne in the background
Self-Portrait