Portrait of a Man. Probably a study for the portrait (1785) of the sculptor C. F. Stanley in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen 1785

"Portrait of a Man" (1785) by Erik Pauelsen is a small-scale portrait study of a man, likely the sculptor C. F. Stanley. The painting, housed at the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, features a detailed depiction of the man's face and upper torso, with particular focus on his hand resting on a table. The painting's intimate size and focus on details suggest its function as a preparatory study for a larger portrait. Pauelsen's skillful rendering of form and expression, especially in the sitter's hand, reveals the artist's talent for realism and his focus on capturing the sitter's character.