Portrait of a Man 2 

Paolo Veronese painted this portrait of a man with oil on canvas sometime in the 16th century. Note the deep blacks and careful rendering of shadow. This wasn’t just for aesthetic effect. The man's clothing would have been hugely expensive. Black dye was difficult to achieve and maintain, requiring multiple applications and rare materials. The ruff around his neck, likely linen, was painstakingly made, starched, and pressed. The whole ensemble speaks to the man’s status; he could afford to essentially wear wealth. Veronese has skillfully represented this investment in materiality. He’s also captured the man’s confident air. We can almost hear the rustle of his expensive clothes. The painting becomes more than a likeness, it's a document of social class, labor, and consumption. It reminds us that painting itself is an economic activity, reliant on rare pigments and the artist’s own labor.