Portrait of a Stout Man

This portrait stands out from most early Netherlandish paintings.

Its narrow frame and light background serve to bring out the distinctive features of the sitter’s face and the contours of his head.

His bulging nose, wrinkles, and small scars may strike some modern viewers as unattractive.

The drooping cheeks and heavy double chin emphasise how little the painter sought to gloss over the sitter’s distinctive physique.

And yet, the picture does not attempt to expose its subject. The man’s portliness is a sign of his individuality, as well as of his social status and reputation.

There is nothing crude in his alert gaze.

His features have something reserved, almost gentle, about them.

Nothing indicates his social standing: there are no clues to his profession or class. This is a portrait of an individual personality, not a social type, and was likely made for the sitter’s family and descendants.

His hairstyle offers no information either – the bowl cut was widely fashionable in the first half of the 15th century.

Despite multiple attempts, we have not been able to identify the man in this painting. His striking portrait is attributed to the mysterious Master of Flémalle – a name of convenience which in fact covers a group of painters, among them the young Rogier van der Weyden.