A Gentleman

This study of a Venetian gentleman in formal dress belongs to Carlevarijs's figure study series from around 1700-1710, documenting the costume and bearing of the Venetian patriciate. As the founder of Venetian veduta painting, Carlevarijs populated his large-scale views of the Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco with accurately observed figures drawn from life, giving his paintings the sociological documentary quality that made them valuable to foreign visitors seeking images of the Venetian world. The gentleman's formal dress — characteristic of the Venetian upper class in the early eighteenth century — was rendered with the precision of a costume record as much as an aesthetic exercise.

The gentleman's formal costume is rendered with slightly more detail than the working-class studies, reflecting the finer fabrics and more complex tailoring. The upright bearing and confident pose convey social authority through body language.