Portrait of an Old Man

About this work

You see an old man staring out intently, holding a letter in his right hand. His face is wrinkled, and his gaze is distant. He's dressed plainly, but his reserved mood fits with Renaissance ideas about behavior. His intense gaze doesn't connect with the viewer, which is interesting because it shows how people were expected to act back then. The artist paid close attention to details like the broken seal on the letter. Check out the work of Giulio Campi.