Flinck, Govert (1615-1660)
Bearded Man with a Velvet Cap
1645
Oil on wood, 60.3 x 52.4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Flinck studied as a pupil in Rembrandt’s studio and, according to one early biographer, had so internalized his teacher’s method within a year that Flinck’s paintings were sold as the master’s own. This tronie, or study of an interesting face, reveals Flinck’s debt to Rembrandt in its use of exotic costume and attentiveness to the sitter’s craggy physiognomy. However, by the time he made this work, Flinck had distinguished himself by developing a much smoother manner of painting, one that would serve him well as a society portraitist. (MET)