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A Man in a Black Cap

Image credit: Tate

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Currently the earliest work in the Tate collection, this subtle portrait is particularly significant in the study of British art, because the name of the artist is recorded on the back. Signatures or inscriptions that identify the artist are very rare on British paintings of this period. Painted on oak panel, the work was cut down, at the sides and along the bottom, at some time prior to its acquisition by the National Gallery in 1897. It was transferred to the Tate Gallery in 1949. The section bearing the repeated French inscriptions 'faict par Johan Bettes Anglois' ('done by John Bettes, Englishman') was evidently retained when the panel was cut down, and affixed to the back. On the front of the painting, the shadows of duplicate inscriptions 'ANNO D[OMIN]I 1545' and 'XXVI' can be seen behind the present ones: '[…]1. 1545' and 'AETATIS . SV[..]'. Taken together, these indicate in translation that the work was painted in 'the year of our Lord 1545' and that the sitter was either aged 26 or in his 26th year.

Tate Britain

London

Title

A Man in a Black Cap

Date

1545

Medium

Oil on oak panel

Measurements

H 47 x W 41 cm

Accession number

N01496

Acquisition method

Purchased 1897

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

date inscribed

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Tate Britain

Millbank, London, Greater London SW1P 4RG England

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