Mandsportræt 1556 - 1641

This is a portrait of a man, made by Lazzaro Tavarone in the late 16th or early 17th century. It's a drawing, done with black chalk and a reddish crayon on paper. Now, the interesting thing here is the immediacy of the medium. Chalk and crayon aren’t like oil paint; they don't invite a lot of blending or correction. Tavarone would have had to commit to each line, each shadow, and build up the image through successive layers of mark-making. You can almost feel him thinking, the pressure of his hand as he renders the man’s features. This directness gives the portrait a feeling of intimacy. It’s not a grand, finished statement, but rather a fleeting impression, quickly captured. The red of the paper warms the image, while the graphic quality of the chalk lends definition. While we can't know how many sketches Tavarone may have discarded, or how long this one took, the materials lend the image a sense of ease and informality. This isn’t a commissioned work, but something more personal, more human.