Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man in Red Turban (1433)

PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN A RED TURBAN BY VAN EYCK: DESCRIPTION AND CURIOUS FACTS

Who is the man in the painting Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by van Eyck and why is he wearing a red turban?
This painting is shrouded in mystery, like other van Eyck’s works and all his life.
According to little information about van Eyck, he was a gifted artist, born in the second half of the 14th century.

In this post you’ll discover a painting which is maybe his self-portrait.

Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by van Eyck 

Jan van Eyck is famous for his meticulously detailed portraits and his portrait of a man in a red turban is considered to be a self-portrait.

DESCRIPTION OF PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN A RED TURBAN BY VAN EYCK

The man in a red turban’s gaze is intense and piercing.
He’s a not very young man, since his eyes are surrounded by small wrinkles. However, he is not an old man, and his facial expression is serious and self-confident.

The man portrayed is enveloped in a dark gown with a fur collar, and his head is covered with a red turban tied in an elaborate way.
Jan van Eyck accurately describes the fabric, shadows and details of the face, including wrinkles and beard not perfectly shaved you can notice when looking closely at his face’s skin.

In Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by van Eyck it’s the gaze the real protagonist which captures our attention.
Since the man is gazing at us, we can suppose that the painting is a self-portrait of the artist, who painted himself while looking in the mirror.

It seems that van Eyck often wore a red turban.
In fact, the artist painted also in other works his self-portrait while wearing the same turban, such as the reflection in the mirror in The Arnolfini Portrait and the reflection in the shield in The Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele.

CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN A RED TURBAN BY VAN EYCK

Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban by van Eyckis the first painting where appears the artist’s motto ALS ICH KANN (As Well As I Can) painted on the upper gilded frame.
On the bottom frame, instead, is the inscription JOH[ANN]ES DE EYCK ME FECIT (Jan van Eyck made me) and the date October 21 1433.

Van Eyck’s painting is of uncertain provenance.
We know that was part of art collections belonged to the descendants of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, who probably bought it in Antwerp between 1642 and 1644.
In 1851 the painting was acquired by the National Gallery of London.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN A RED TURBAN BY VAN EYCK I RECOMMEND TO YOU

• the in-depth description of the artwork on the website of the National Gallery of London.