Portrait of a young man, half-length seated, in a black coat with a white ruff
inscribed 'AE TATIS.ZZ/1579' u.r., with a coat of arms u.l., oil on panel
93 x 72cm

Provenance: Arthur Granville Soames, Sheffield Park, Sussex;
Sotheby's, Sale of the Contents of Sheffield Park, March 1954

There is a handwritten note on House of Commons headed paper from the Right Hon. Alan Lennox-Boyd MP, dated Christmas 1955, attached verso. A second note states that the work was no.379 at the sale of Sheffield Park in March 1954.

Condition Report

Overall: 103 x 83cm
The painting is executed in oil on wooden panel which is formed from three boards in vertical alignment. The joins in the boards have been reinforced at a later date with butterfly inserts at the reverse. The joins are slightly open at the front but appear stable. There are localised areas of raised paint which are flaking on a fine scale. The flesh paint has developed a network of age cracks which are slightly raised and appear dark, but are stable. The rest of the paint layers appear in a good condition. The detail of the fabric is lost under layers of dark, discoloured overpaint. There are areas of overpaint across the surface of the picture, along the panel joins and covering areas of wear and abrasion which follow the vertical woodgrain. In the sitter’s face the overpaint has darkened overtime. A layer of surface dirt has been partially removed and appears smeary.