Cardinal Alessandro Farnese

What you see

Cardinal Alessandro Farnese is seen half-length, turned toward the right, but he turns his head to look at us over his shoulder. He wears a red biretta, a short red cape over a robe of the same color, and a neat dark beard. One hand rests, two fingers extended, on a dark wooden object. A pale piece of fabric shows at the right edge.

The whole picture is a variation on red, from the vermilion of the biretta to the muted red of the background. The white, almost transparent sleeve is painted with light touches. Don’t miss the white collar peeking out beneath the beard and the gleam of light on his forehead.