UNKNOWN MASTER, French
(active around 1480 in northern France)

Portrait of an Ecclesiastic

c. 1480
Tempera and oil on oak, 29 x 22 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

The unidentified sitter is set against a red background and faces left. His black cap and robes would seem to be clerical garb. The direction of the sitter's gaze and his prayerful hand gesture strongly suggest that this panel was originally the right wing of a diptych, and the left wing was most likely an image of the Virgin and Child.