Vittore Carpaccio?
Man with a Red Cap

This small portrait format measuring around 35 x 22 centimetres is painted in tempera on wood. It comes from the Museo Civico Correr in Venice. 

The portrait depicts a man in his thirties. His head and shoulders fill almost the entire picture space. The man's narrow face is turned slightly to the right from a frontal view. His blue eyes look down at the viewer from under his bushy brown brows. He has a straight nose with a long bridge. The small mouth with narrow lips is closed. The rosy cheeks are clean-shaven, the chin has a small dimple. Shoulder-length, frizzy chestnut-brown hair frames the face. The man wears a small red beret on his head. The soft fabric headgear resembles a cap in shape. 

The man is wearing a matt blue outer garment with a low black stand-up collar. This is decorated with a green palmette pattern. A narrow strip of his white shirt peeps out above the collar. A red coat, also with a stand-up collar, lies over his narrow, sloping shoulders. Two round, flat silver buttons are fastened to each end of the coat collar. A golden cord is threaded through the buttons on the left. 

The background is a wooded coastline with a few buildings. The trees along the shore are reflected in the surface of the water. On the horizon, mountain ranges rise one behind the other. The sky, which appears white-grey above the mountain peaks, darkens to a mid-blue at the upper edge of the picture.

What might he be thinking as he subjects us to scrutiny, this gentleman with his lop-sided beret? His thin lips are tightly compressed, and he's holding himself very upright. The man in this portrait is from a good family, a member of the Venetian upper class. You can tell, not only by his confident demeanour, but also by his dress: the bright red mantle and the blue doublet over a white shirt.

But who was this man? Despite the distinctive facial features, that knowledge has been lost. He seems to be standing in front of an atmospheric landscape, but even that doesn't give us a clue to his identity.

That's a pity, because the painter has rendered his sitter's facial expression and personality with great care. Previously, members of the upper classes had largely been portrayed as representatives of their rank and role in society, but that changed shortly before the year 1500. Some painters – including Vittorio Carpaccio – set out to discover their subjects' characters and individuality. They painted extremely vivid portraits. And indeed: there's a sense that the unknown gentleman with his red beret might speak to us any moment now – he's so lifelike.

Feel free to take a look around the room at the other subjects of the portraits in here. Some look quite static, while others appear lively and distinctive. And Carpaccio and his fellow painters even portrayed some of them with a knowing, almost humorous look.

What is this man with the crooked red beret (that's what they call a cap in Venice) thinking, who is looking at us carefully? He has a tight mouth and is sitting very straight. He looks confident and is wearing expensive clothes, such as a bright red coat. He belongs to the upper class of Venice.

But who was this man? Despite his unique facial features, we no longer know. The landscape in the background also gives no clue as to who he is.

That's a pity, because Carpaccio painted the expression and personality of the man very carefully. That was something new at the time: members of the upper class had to represent their noble family or their offices and increase their power and prestige. Who they were as people was not so important.

But shortly before 1500, that changed: Vittore Carpaccio and some other painters were interested in the personality and character of their models. They painted portraits that seemed alive. And indeed: the unknown gentleman with his red cap looks as if he would speak to us at any moment, he is painted so lifelike.

Take a look at the other pictures in the room. Some people are portrayed as rigid and immobile, others as lively and individual.