Return to Velázquez Rediscovered
Prior to recent conservation, Velázquez's Portrait of a Man was distorted by degraded varnish, by excessive and discolored restoration, and by earlier attempts to change its character. A restoration undertaken in 1925 sought to suppress aspects that could be perceived as unfinished or worn by broadly toning thin areas in the background and doublet and by overpainting original changes in the contours of the hair at the left side and top of the head. The varnish gradually oxidized, turning brown and less transparent. Subsequent layers of varnish were added in 1953 and 1965. Over time these coatings also degraded, further obscuring the painting's qualities. Eventually, the portrait was regarded as a workshop effort of limited interest and importance.During the recent intervention, the layers of discolored varnish and excessive restoration were carefully removed, revealing a work of extraordinary vigor and freshness. Although the painting is worn in places, the abbreviated, loose, and free handling was the artist's intention. Consequently, only a minimum amount of retouching was undertaken to suppress a few small paint losses in the background and some of the more prominent and distracting areas of later abrasion.The densely woven canvas support was covered with a pinkish buff-colored ground—the preparatory layer that was applied to the support prior to painting. It filled the texture of the canvas weave, made the support less absorbent, and established an overall color and tone that the artist could exploit during the subsequent painting process. The random, arcing strokes in the X-radiograph suggest that the ground was applied with a large, flat spatula or knife, typical of Velázquez's working practice.
X-radiography reveals the entire structure of a painting—the paint layers and ground application as well as the stretcher and tacks. The crest of George V King of Hannover, painted on the reverse of the canvas, may be seen at the lower right. Traces of the position of the original strainer may be seen along the top and right edges of the X-radiograph, suggesting that the canvas was cut from a larger, previously grounded piece.
The painting as seen from below. It appears that the painting was stretched in its final format only after it had been completed, since paint strokes from the main composition continue on the tacking margins.On top of the pinkish buff ground, Velázquez used a brush to execute a broad line sketch of the principal forms in brownish black paint. Some of these lines may still be seen around the contour of the sitter's torso, and in places the long strokes have a broken quality where they have been dragged across the canvas weave. Following the brush-line sketch, the artist blocked-in the general forms of the figure tonally, using a somewhat thinner brownish black paint. He then brushed a warm gray color up and around the figure to anchor its position and provide a greater sense of volume and depth. At this early stage a change was made to the sitter's pose: it appears that the head was repositioned lower and turned more in profile certainly the hair was changed at the top and to the left of the sitter's head.
In the bottom left corner, a brush line that appears to record the raised position of the arm has been painted over but is still partially visible. If this is indeed a self-portrait, that line may be an inadvertent record of the artist holding up his palette.The doublet was given substance through the application of a slightly more opaque gray paint that modeled the volumes of the chest, shoulder, and sleeve. Boldly applied black strokes were then added to indicate folds, details of tailoring, and buttons.
A cold gray was pulled around the neck, and a few cursory but perfectly placed thin lines of white paint brilliantly evoke the orientation and rigidity of the collar.
The hair is treated in a similarly loose and spirited manner. In contrast, the face, though still displaying virtuoso handling and sureness of touch, was observed with searing intensity and concentration. The brownish black tonal blocking-in of the first stage is visible in the half-shadows under the distinctive heavy brow and below the jaw. Gradually, more opaque pinkish layers of paint were added to sculpt the features, often exploiting the optical effects of thin and thickly applied layers over the initial dark blocking-in to create a wonderful interplay of warm and cool tones. Finally, thickly applied highlights pull portions of the face into focus and provide a remarkably palpable sense of the effect of light falling across the skin.
The placement of the figure on the far right—shown as an observer rather than a direct participant in the action—and the way he looks out at the viewer led some scholars in the past to identify it as a self-portrait. The matter is, however, highly speculative. There is the question of his resemblance (or lack thereof) to bona-fide portraits of Velázquez and the fact that he is attired like other members of the Spanish contingent.