| In the Victoria National Art Gallery is a painting of a thin man in a red cape and cap and a white collar. His tired but intent gaze is directed at a point off the right-hand side of the work, revealing a vivid inner life. He is probably an aristocratic Catholic cleric. The painting, an exceptional example of Mannerist portraiture, features discernible basic elements of Theotokopoulos' technique. Originally much larger, it was preserved whole in the Pidal Collection of Madrid until the early 20th century; it was extensively overpainted, to suit the taste of the time of an early Velasquez. The painting may portray Cardinal Bernardo Sandoval y Rojas, Archbishop of Toledo. The work is dated to circa 1599-1600. |