A Prophet,
tempera, oil and gold on panel, 27.5 x 24 cm, framed

This expressive male head with a distinct halo, the warm colour palette, against the background which reproduces a rich damask fabric, suggest that the present painting was painted in the Iberian Peninsula.

The figure can probably be identified as a prophet, as indicated by the exotic headdress and polygonal halo, reserved in Spanish painting for Old Testament figures to distinguish them from New Testament ones, who were instead characterised by circular haloes. See for example as iconographic comparisons the half-figures (David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Ezra and Ozias) painted by Pedro Berruguete in the predella of the great polyptych of the high altar of the church of Santa Eulalia in Paredes de Nava, a work from the 1480s and it is possible that this panel was also part of a similar composition.

The painting combines distinctly Mediterranean features, such as the golden halo raised in the form of pastille, with an attention to detail of Northern European influence, shown in the details of the eyelashes and locks of hair. The artist of the present work was among the important group of Spanish artists active in the second half of the 15th century who were strongly influenced by Flemish painting, including Pedro Berruguete and Jaume Huguet.