Portrait of a Man c. 1795

François André Vincent painted this portrait of a man at an unknown date, using oil paint on canvas. Oil paint has a particular capacity for rendering textures, as we can see here in the sheen of the sitter's jacket and the duller surface of the green cloth beside him. The paint is applied smoothly, with subtle gradations of tone that model the man's features and clothing, and create a convincing illusion of three-dimensionality. Note too that this is a portrait of someone of obvious wealth and status, indicated by his clothing, elegant pose, and setting. But the painting itself required considerable resources and labor to produce, from the cultivation of the flax used to make the canvas, to the grinding of pigments and mixing of oils that constituted the paint. Considering these material processes and social conditions, it becomes clear that this portrait is more than just a likeness. It's a complex object that embodies the economic and social relations of its time.