Young man with a black feathered hat - School of Corneille de Lyon (1500-1575)

Oil on oak panel with parquet
Presented in a beautiful frame called tabernacle in carved wood, gilded and polychrome.
Total dimensions : 70 X 52 cm. The panel alone : 34 x 25 cm

Portrayed in bust on a green background, he is dressed in a black and red pourpoint, his right hand resting on his hip near the pommel of his dagger, he wears two rings on his little finger.
This handsome young man, a little haughty, has a chestnut beard. He is wearing a black velvet hat with two feathers. His attire dates from the years 1540-1550.

In the midst of the Renaissance, the taste for portrait galleries was at its peak and works on small wooden panels were highly sought after.
Among a number of painters, Corneille de Lyon (The Hague c.1500/1510 - Lyon c.1574) had a flourishing studio, driven by high demand. Most of his works are his own, but given his fame, they are supplemented and even reproduced by his workshop (students, his son, and his daughter herself renowned as an excellent painter) and followers...
He distinguished himself from the other portraitists of his time by using a neutral background, very often of green color, which allows to emphasize the face and to reveal its personality.
He made his living as a painter, and seems to have cooperated with other artists in the neighborhood (painters or engravers). His studio keeps a gallery of copies of the paintings of the most famous people whose portraits he made. This allows customers to acquire a new copy, or encourages them to have their portrait done by a renowned artist. His business seemed to prosper until the Wars of Religion, during which, despite his attachment to the Reformed religion, he did not seem to be the victim of aggression or spoliation. He converted to the Catholic religion under duress in 1569.
He acquired great prestige to the point that paintings in this style came to be referred to as "Corneilles". Working in oil on wood, he concentrated his work on the face and the bust. Cornelius was very precise in the composition of the hair and beards, which he sometimes traced almost hair by hair. His models rarely wear heavy decorated clothes, his style remains very sober.