French School, early/mid 17th century- Portrait of a gentleman, quarter-length, turned to the left, in a silver doublet with gold embroidery and ruff; oil on canvas, indistinctly inscribed 'Arnouf Go...' (upper right), dated '1616' (upper left)...

French School, early/mid 17th century- Portrait of a gentleman, quarter-length, turned to the left, in a silver doublet with gold embroidery and ruff; oil on canvas, indistinctly inscribed 'Arnouf Go...' (upper right), dated '1616' (upper left), 65.5 x 55 cm. Note: The present portrait displays a fashionable gentleman of the period wearing a silver satin doublet with embroidered gold floral motifs and slashing. The use of slashing would have been to show off the sitter's red lining or shirt underneath, and also to create patterns in the doublet. It began appearing around the 1610s/1620s and was to become a common feature of fashionable men's clothing.
Relined around the first half of the 20th century. The wooden stretcher dates from the first half of the 20th century. The canvas is subject to single horizontal bar mark and some marks from the stretcher around the edges. Small patch of flaking to the paint surface centre far left in the background. Some minor flaking and bloom to all the edges of the paint surface. Uneven varnish. Under inspection with UV lamp there is evidence of minor and historic retouching in the following places: in small spots on the forehead; to the left of the line of the sitter’s head above the edge of the ruff in the background; in small spots on the upper part of the ruff on the left; heightening under the chin right; on the bottom of the hair right; small spot in the costume where the arm meets the shoulder on the right; a patch of retouching in the right chest area of the costume; along the bottom edge of the costume from left to right; in small spots and patches on both sides of the sitter in the background centre left and right; around the perimeter of the canvas on all sides. Overall in very good condition Held in a Louis XIII carved and gilded frame. The frame has not been reduced. The sight edge has been modified and cut out at a later date in time. The frame subject to pre-existing woodworm and old hanging holes. All four rails of the frame subject to gentle concave warpage. Recently applied small rectangular blocks of wood to all corners on the reverse to hold canvas within the frame. Frame with numerous chips and flaking to the mouldings throughout. Mitres opening particularly top left and bottom right. Old repaired split to the moulding top rail. Some older damages have been touched up with gold-coloured paint at some point in time.