BAILLY, David
(b. 1584, Leiden, d. 1657, Leiden)

Portrait of a Man

1641
Oil on wood, 84 x 62 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The sitter of this portrait in unidentified, he is possibly a botanist: the open book in his hands shows two views of a narcissus. The portrait formerly was attributed to Ferdinand Bol, the recent attribution to David Bailly is supported by stylistic considerations and by the similarities to other portraits by Bailly, such as the portrait of Anthony de Wale in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.