Portrait of a Man in Profile 

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio painted this portrait of a man, probably in oil, sometime around the turn of the 16th century. He seems like the kind of painter who takes his time, and that’s reflected in the muted palette, the restrained brushwork. The painting is all about layering and blending. Look at how Boltraffio builds up the darks, especially in the man’s clothing and the background. There's a real density in those areas, but it’s not achieved through thick paint. Instead, it's all about thin, translucent glazes applied one after another. It’s like he's slowly coaxing the darkness out of the canvas. This careful approach is what makes the areas of light so powerful. The delicate modeling of the face, the subtle highlights on the man’s collar – these details emerge from the darkness, creating a sense of quiet drama. It reminds me a bit of Leonardo da Vinci, especially in the way Boltraffio uses sfumato to soften the edges and create a sense of atmosphere. But Boltraffio has his own sensibility.