Portrait of Jacob Obrecht (Q16038705)

description: The gilt Gothic inscription on this masterpiece of Renaissance portraiture identifies the sitter as Jacob Obrecht (1457/58-1505), a renowned choirmaster and one of the greatest composers of his age. On the original attached frame is inscribed both the date of the painting, 1496, and the sitter's age, 38. Born in Ghent, Obrecht led a peripatetic career, taking posts in Bergen op Zoom, Cambrai, Bruges, and Antwerp. Such was his international standing, he was invited to the court of Ferrara by Duke Ercole I d'Este. He died from the plague, eulogized as "a most learned musician, second in the art to no one, in respect to either voice or cleverness of invention." The painting, possibly the left-hand side of a diptych, would have faced a complementary panel of a religious subject. Preserved in exceptional condition, it is remarkable for the virtuosity of details such as the folds of Obrecht's lace-trimmed surplice and the soft gray fur of the almuce (the badge of office of a canon, including the choral clergy) draped over his arm.