Portrait of a Mining Official

The portrait of this stern-looking man in a white wig has traditionally been considered a portrayal of one of the mining clerks in Kutná Hora. It is therefore linked to the period, which Brandl spent in Sedlec near Kutná Hora (1728-1729), where he worked for the local Cistercian Order. In the same way as in Simeon with the Infant Jesus, here he also used the brushholder, and in some places its traces uncovered the bole ground (bole - clay material used as the preparatory layer). At that time, a similar technique was used in the paintings of the Bergamo portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, called Fra Galgario. Brandl was a good observer of his models - he did not incline to idealizing the faces, but tried to capture them as faithfully as possible. He applied distinctly contrastive chiaroscuro in portraiture, as well - the light radiating from the upper left corner sharply illuminates the right-hand cheek of the man, while the left one is left almost in the dark. The colour scheme is otherwise limited to several colder shades, which balance the warm tones of the incarnate (incarnate - flesh-coloured hue).