Rijksmuseum

Portrait of an African Man (Christophle le More?)

Date

c. 1525 - c. 1530

Medium

oil paint (paint), oak (wood)

Culture

Mechelen

Institution

Rijksmuseum

This is the only known portrait of a black man in early European painting. He may have served at the Brussels court of Emperor Charles V, who had a black archer called Christophle le More among his bodyguards. The badge of the Virgin on his cap is a souvenir of a pilgrimage to Halle (Brabant), a favourite destination of pilgrims from the Brussels court.

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