Ekphrasis

John Varriano presents us with the portrait of a man who is in complete control of his life, business and emotions. We can see from the way that he dresses alone, that he is an individual of impeccable taste. His suit is hand tailored and of fine merino wool. That shirt is crisp and well pressed, with just the right amount of collar and sleeves exposed. His tie perfectly matches his shirt and the pocket handkerchief is meticulously folded. If you were to know this man, you would realize that he dresses with this level of style on a daily basis with an almost limitless variety of business attire.

He looks directly at the viewer with a knowing smile and gentle yet penetrating eyes. He is comfortably composed and supremely self-confident, possessing a high level of self-esteem, but he is not arrogant

and always treats others with respect and politeness. Even under pressure he remains soft spoken.

In the entire painting, the only place that we can perhaps detect some tension is in the pressing together of those thumbs. This man is capable of such composure however, that even if half the World were collapsing, we would hardly get more of a reaction than this. Truly Extraordinary.

During The Renaissance an Italian Courtier by the name of Baldassare Castilgione wrote a fine and exemplary book on Courtly manners known as ‘Il Corteggiano’. The book made its way to almost every Court in Europe, and for hundreds of years provided the standard for Gentlemanly behavior. In this Portrait we can see a modern-day version of that very type of individual, a Gentleman.

Varriano displays his rare gift for portraiture. His ability to capture psychology, physiology and body language in a painting, is a rare exception, unmatched in our  modern times.

The handling of the paint is outstanding. The rendering of the face and hands is of the highest quality, and the beautiful and dramatic chiaroscuro lighting renders a profound expression to this magnificent work.