Focus on Portrait of a Carthusian and analyze the abstract.
Portrait of a Carthusian is a painting in oils on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus in 1446. The work is part of the Jules Bache Collection housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
It is regarded as a masterpiece of Early Netherlandish painting and, because of the fly painted towards the bottom of the painting, a prominent, early example of trompe-l'œil. In 2020, the painting became a meme after the subject was compared to a Northeast Philadelphia local.
Petrus Christus trompe-l'œil Carthusian meme panel fly painted Early Netherlandish painter Christ Northeast Philadelphia Jules Bache Early Netherlandish painting Metropolitan Museum of Art