A Man in Armor after an Imitator of Giorgione, Etching by Paul Rajon, 1875

A young man in full plate armor stands alone against a deep, dark ground, his head bowed and his eyes lowered. His long hair falls to his shoulders, a flower-shaped rosette is pinned at his right shoulder, and the steel of his breastplate, arm defenses and leg harness catches a strong light from the left. A skirt of mail hangs below the waist, a sword hilt shows at his belt, and a long lance is held loosely in his left hand, its shaft running up past his shoulder. A heavy curtain falls in shadow on the right, and he stands on a shallow ledge, so the figure has the stillness of a portrait displayed in a gallery.

The print reproduces the small painting "A Man in Armor" in the National Gallery, London. In the nineteenth century the picture was admired as a work by Giorgione; the National Gallery now catalogs it as by an imitator of Giorgione, probably of the seventeenth century. The plate is signed and dated below the image, "Rajon aq fort. 1875," meaning that Paul Rajon etched it in 1875. Rajon was one of the most respected French reproductive etchers of his generation.

This is an etching, and Rajon handles the metal surfaces with great skill: bright, broken highlights on the polished plates, dense rings of short strokes for the mail, and a velvety dark background that makes the figure seem to step forward. The plate mark is visible, with wide margins around the image.

A compelling piece for a hallway, a stair landing or a collection of arms and armor, where a narrow dark frame would echo the somber mood of the image.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.