ROMAN SCHOOL, MID-17TH CENTURY

While his identity has eluded scholars to date, this enigmatic musician appears to have been painted by an artist working in Rome in the period following Caravaggio’s rise to prominence. Caravaggio's influence was widespread amongst a constellation of painters from all corners of Europe that were working in the city in the late sixteenth and throughout the seventeenth century; they disseminated elements of his style even further upon their return to their own region or country. Despite there being no evidence that Caravaggio had a workshop, these artists readily absorbed not only his use of dramatic chiaroscuro, but a keen sense of naturalism and direct observation that set him apart from his Mannerist forebears. The directness of the present sitter's gaze is reinforced by a lack of background detail, a muted colour palette, and strong illumination from the left, casting half of his face into shadow.