Portrait of a Man
Artist
John Ritto Penniman
(American, 1782–1841)
Date1804
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 73.7 x 61.3 cm (29 x 24 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCharlotte E.W. Buffinton Fund
Object number1989.166
DescriptionPortrait of a Man is a half-length view of a man turned three-quarters left and looking forward. His brown hair is combed in wisps that fall across his forehead and the upper parts of his cheeks. The sitter’s proper right eyebrow arches higher than the left one above his pale blue eyes. His face is nearly round, though it narrows slightly at the chin. A light coming from the right side casts shadows behind and to the left of his nose and neck cloth. The man’s costume consists of a black coat worn over a red waistcoat and white shirt with a stiffly starched collar. The outfit is ornamented with a simple white stock, a white bow, and a white shirt ruffle. Penniman conveyed the texture of these textiles with long brushstrokes of white over gray paint. The portrait is painted in an oval format with black spandrel corners. The background is a loosely defined landscape with a peach and blue sky at upper left, water at lower left, and a tree behind the man’s shoulder at upper right.Label TextThis painting of an unknown gentleman might be a self-portrait, made to mark John Ritto Penniman’s transition from apprentice to professional artist. Evidence lies in the sitter’s round face, arched eyebrows and prominent nose, which are very similar to a small, signed self-portrait by Penniman. The artist worked in central Massachusetts, Boston, and ultimately Baltimore as a decorative painter of furniture and interior furnishings, besides creating portraits. This work, like many of his paintings, combines his two styles. He shows a great interest in capturing the character and personality in front of him, requirements for any successful portraitist. Meanwhile, the flattened, stylized tree and hazy background behind his subject testify to his decorative interests.ProvenanceE. A. Boardman, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by 1935; Mr. and Mrs. Roland Carlson, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
On View
On view
