Portrait of a Nobleman

A bearded man with flushed pale skin meets the viewer’s gaze, his rosiness enhanced by the sea of crimson fabric that envelopes his body. Using loose, broad brushstrokes, the artist conveys the cloak’s velvety texture and heavy weight, which contrasts with the translucent wash of the background. The artist’s affinity for richly dyed textiles like the one seen here may relate to his father having been a dyer (tintore, in Italian), hence the artist’s nickname, Tintoretto (little dyer). Although the sitter remains unidentified, this painting has been connected to the powerful Venetian Foscari family.