Study for a Portrait of a Man 1640 - 1679

Guillaume Courtois’s “Study for a Portrait of a Man,” now at the Metropolitan Museum, draws us in with its sanguine strokes, a preparatory sketch full of life. The composition, seemingly simple, reveals much about artistic intention. Look closely at the lines, quickly defining form yet suggestive, not conclusive. Note how Courtois uses hatching to build volume in the drapery and face, achieving depth despite the drawing's flatness. The absence of precise detail isn't a shortcoming, but rather it invites interpretation. We see a figure, draped, yet the rapid lines of the sketch leave his status ambiguous. Is this an artwork about the subject or the act of observing? Perhaps both. The sketch is not merely representational but explores perception itself. The unfinished quality challenges fixed meanings, reminding us that art is an ongoing dialogue.