17th-century Roman school A young man holding... Lot 49

17th-century Roman school A young man holding a flask and a glass of wine Oil on canvas 71 × 55.5 cm A young man is depicted from the front, in bust form. He is elegantly dressed, his white shirt collar contrasting with his dark jacket and large, wide-brimmed hat, giving him stature. The man holds a gourd in his left hand and has just poured wine into a delicate glass, the stem of which he holds between thumb and forefinger. He looks on and his mouth is half-open, engaging the viewer: it's as if he's inviting us to join him in a glass of wine. By making the viewer a participant, the artist is clearly referring to Caravaggio's early paintings, which continued to have a profound influence on genre painting in Rome in the first half of the 17th century. Depictions of tavern scenes, or of individuals eating and drinking, were at the height of their popularity in Rome in the 1610s and 20s. Such figures sometimes took on allegorical significance, such as representing the sense of Taste, and although this is probably not the case here, the man seen here would probably have been paired with a painting of similar subject matter in the 17th century.