CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

Portrait Study of a Clean-Shaven Man

c. 1520
Oil on paper primed with brownish colour over pen and chalk, mounted on canvas, 223 x 160 mm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

This fine portrait shows a middle-aged man who dispenses with the beard usual for someone of his age. The sitter has an air of determination and resolution - an impression emphasized by the compression of the lips.