"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting seems to be an oil sketch on paper laid down onto panel. The paper has almost fused with the wood, having absorbed the varnish and medium of past overpainting, and has followed every movement of the panel. This has an old cradle but has clearly long been stable. There is one old horizontal central crack, with another shorter crack above that has caused a flaking loss in the collar, and a few other minor little old cracks, and occasional marks. Since the recent removal of the upper layer of repainting, the fine drawing of the present picture has been revealed. The sensitive treatment of the head is remarkably well preserved, with particularly intact areas such as the ear. There is a broken line of lost paint across the sleeve into the chest, and perhaps a little strengthening in the hand but essentially the surface appears remarkably pure. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This enigmatic portrait owes much in its conception to the naturalistic style of Jean Clouet (circa 1485 - 1540/41) and his son, François (circa 1516 - 1572).  The incisiveness of the drawing, realistic treatment of the features and penetrating psychology are characteristic features of the portrait drawings of the Clouets and their most talented, immediate followers, which are ususally executed in black or black and red chalk on paper.  The striking impact of present work owes much to its unsusual medium.  Painted with a miniaturist's attention to detail in oil&nbs🐎p;on paper, using the paper itself as an overall tone in the painting, th💙e painting has no precise technical parallels with any known works by the Clouets or their followers although Jean Clouet did make a number of minatures on vellum.

The costume of the sitter suggests a dating to the last quarter of the 16th century.  In terms of style, the painting comes closest to the work of the Clouet follower♉, François Quesnel (1542/5 - 1619), to whom a tentative attribution has been proposed. The sitter is not the typical courtier depicted by Quesnel and his contempoararies; he is older and clean shaven and wears a sober costume, unadorned with any signifiers of his rank.  The picture is painted with unusual sensitivity, the character of the elderly man evident in his careworn face.

The portrait has been the subject of recent restoration, which has removed substantial areas﷽ of later repainting, including a hat, red tunic, parapet and black background.  It was included in its earlier state in Sotheby's sale of Old Master Paintings, New York, 24 January 2008, lot 77 (fig. 1), but withdrawn prior to the sale as concerns had been raised over the date of the painting.