Alexander Anderson

A bust-length portrait of a dark-haired man in a dark green coat and white cravat, his hand resting on a green-covered book or ledge. Loose, painterly brushwork models the face and fabrics against a soft grey ground, with warm flesh tones at the cheeks and hand.

Look closer: The loosely brushed left arm fades into bare ground at the left edge of the canvas.

Artist

John Wesley Jarvis

Date

1815

Medium

Oil on canvas

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

1903 × 2451 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Robert Hoe Jr., 1881