Study of a kneeling man

In addition to portrait drawings, studies of drapery were needed to create a full-length painted portrait. Here the artist made only a rough black chalk sketch of this kneeling patron’s face. Clearly he was primarily interested in the folds of the sitter’s clothing, which he worked up with pen and ink. This is one of the few drawings that have survived from the workshop of Dirk Bouts, an important master based in Louvain.