Artwork
Portrait of a Man with a Black-Plumed Hat
Portrait of a Man with a Black-Plumed Hat is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Corneille de Lyon. It dates from 1535 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a man identified as René de Batarnay, Comte du Bouchage, a French noble of the mid‑16th century.
The painting shows a man identified as René de Batarnay, Comte du Bouchage, a French noble of the mid‑16th century. He is rendered in a half‑length pose, wearing a black‑plumed hat that marks his aristocratic status. Executed in oil on panel in 1535 by Corneille de Lyon, the work is classified as a portrait and was originally owned by several European collectors before entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
As a portrait, its primary purpose was to record the sitter’s appearance and convey his social standing, a common function of courtly imagery in the Renaissance.
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil paint on a wood panel, a standard support for mid-16th-century Northern European portraiture. The work is small in scale, measuring 21.6 cm in height by 15.2 cm in width, an intimate format suited to private devotional or commemorative use. Corneille de Lyon's handling is characteristic of his refined cabinet portraits: tightly cropped, with the sitter, identified as René de Batarnay, Comte du Bouchage, rendered bust-length against a plain ground that throws the figure into sharp relief.
The black-plumed hat is treated with crisp, controlled brushwork, while the face is modeled with delicate tonal transitions. The overall finish is smooth and enamel-like, with minimal visible impasto. The panel support remains in a stable condition consistent with its preservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Attributed to Corneille de Lyon, this oil-on-panel portrait was executed in 1535. The work depicts René de Batarnay, Comte du Bouchage. Its documented ownership chain begins with Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg, followed by Georg V of Hanover and Bernhard Hausmann.
The painting subsequently entered the collection of François Roger de Gaignières before being acquired by Jules Bache. Bache later facilitated the work's inclusion in the Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The portrait is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its accession number is 41.164.2. It entered the collection through the Jules Bache bequest in 1941.
The painting was previously in the collections of François Roger de Gaignières, Bernhard Hausmann, Georg V of Hanover, and Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Its exhibition history includes a Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art.
Overview
This oil painting, created by Corneille de Lyon in 1535, is titled Portrait of a Man with a Black-Plumed Hat. It depicts René de Batarnay, Comte du Bouchage, a figure from the mid-16th century. The artwork is currently housed in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a characteristic example of the artist's portraiture.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Corneille de Lyon was a Dutch painter of portraits who was active in Lyon, France, from 1533 until his death. In France and the Netherlands he is also still known as Corneille de La Haye after his birthplace, The Hague.
