Where can I see Portrait of a Man?

Portrait of a Man is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

What movement is Portrait of a Man?

Portrait of a Man is associated with Rococo painting.

Artwork

Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a Man is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Nicolas de Largillière. It dates from 1706 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Created circa 1706, this oil portrait presents a solitary gentleman rendered in the early Rococo idiom.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

As a portrait genre work, it follows the conventional aim of representing an individual's likeness and presumably his social standing or character.

The painting depicts a man, presented as the sole subject of the composition. As a portrait genre work, it follows the conventional aim of representing an individual's likeness and presumably his social standing or character. Beyond this basic identification, the provided sources do not specify the sitter's identity, his pose or attributes, or any symbolic elements incorporated into the depiction.

Technique & Style

The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, a standard support for easel portraits in early 18th-century Europe. Its dimensions measure 770.0 cm in height by 600.0 cm in width, establishing a relatively large format that emphasizes the sitter’s presence. The handling of brushwork reveals Largillière’s characteristic blend of fine detail in the facial features with looser, painterly strokes in the clothing, creating a subtle interplay of light and shadow that defines the sitter’s three‑dimensional form.

The composition follows the conventions of portraiture of the period, positioning the figure centrally against a muted background, thereby drawing attention to the sitter’s expression and attire.

History & Provenance

The Portrait of a Man was painted by Nicolas de Largillière and entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display. The work measures 770.0 cm in height and 600.0 cm in width, reflecting its large-scale format. Its creation is documented within the museum's records, confirming de Largillière as the artist and establishing the painting's dating and provenance within the institution's holdings.

The painting is held by the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Danish national art museum, as part of its permanent collection. According to the cataloguing data, it is an oil on canvas measuring 77.0 cm in height by 60.0 cm in width.

No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented beyond its current placement within the Statens Museum for Kunst's holdings.

Overview

Created circa 1706, this oil portrait presents a solitary gentleman rendered in the early Rococo idiom. The canvas is part of the Statens Museum for Kunst’s holdings, offering a glimpse of French portraiture at the turn of the eighteenth century. The work exemplifies the period’s interest in refined, intimate depictions of individual sitters.

Artist & collection

Artist

Nicolas de Largillière

Nicolas de Largillière (French:; baptised 10 October 1656 – 20 March 1746) was a French painter and draughtsman. From 1733 until 1735, he was director of the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture.