After Hyacinthe Rigaud, French School, 18th century
Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Coat
Oil on canvas

Unsigned. 21 x 18 inches (53 x 46 cm), the frame 27 x 24 inches (69 x 61 cm). Carved gilt frame. Unlined, with flaking and small losses to the paint layer.

The wig is the largest thing in the picture. It falls in heavy curls well below the shoulders and fills a third of the canvas, around a face turned three quarters toward us against a plain brown ground.

The face is modeled smoothly, the light entering from the left across the forehead and the bridge of the nose. The red coat is laid in broadly, its folds carried in a few loaded strokes, and the lace cravat at the throat is drawn in short dry touches over the darker ground. Nothing in the picture identifies him, no armor, no order, no coat of arms.