Portrait of a Young Man

In spite of its title, this painting is not a portrait, but the depiction of a young man in fancy dress. Studies of figures wearing exotic costumes were popular in seventeenth-century Holland, and were frequently produced by Rembrandt and his circle. The dress and dramatic lighting here suggest that this man is a figure from history, although there are no attributes to point to a specific character. It has been suggested that Lievens himself, or possibly Rembrandt, modelled for this painting, but it was certainly not intended to be a portrait. This painting is considered to be one of Lievens's greatest works, and may have been inspired by the friendly rivalry between the two artists, which ende...