1794
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Portrait of a Man is a 1794 unspecified by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a Neoclassicism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a small, round portrait of an older man with white hair and a serious expression. He’s wearing a dark coat over a light cravat, and the background is plain and dark. The painting is framed in a fancy gold border that looks like it’s made of carved metal. The man’s face is lit softly, with shadows under his chin and around his eyes. This kind of lighting was often used to make faces look more lifelike and expressive. Next, check out the technique called *chiaroscuro* to see how artists used light and shadow like this.
Jean-Baptiste Isabey (French pronunciation: ; 11 April 1767 – 18 April 1855) was a French artist during both the First Empire and the Restoration.
See the richer artist page
