Portrait of a Man (Jan van Winckele?)

In 1462 the university of Louvain was less than 40 years old, and that year it gave a prominent townsman, Jan van Winckele, an administrative post. The National Gallery suggests, with a question mark, that he is the man here and that the portrait may mark his promotion. The year itself, painted on the wall beside his hat, is certain. This is the only dated painting by Dieric Bouts, and the earliest dated portrait known with an open window onto a distant landscape. Through it you see fields, trees and a church spire below blue hills. The sitter is dressed quietly but well, in a dull red wool robe and matching hat. Look closely at the date. The first three figures seem cut into the plaster, and the last seems to stand out from the wall.