Portrait of a Carthusian

Artist
Petrus Christus
Year
1446
Medium
Oil on oak
Dimensions
Overall 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (29.2 x 21.6 cm); painted surface 11 1/2 x 7 3/8 in. (29.2 x 18.7 cm)

A Carthusian monk stands in three-quarter view against a deep red wall, his hands clasped, his gaze steady and inward. Petrus Christus, working in Bruges, was among the first Northern painters to set a sitter in a convincingly rendered space — the fly resting on the painted frame is one of the most famous details in early Netherlandish painting.