Leaning casually against the back of a chair, a young man, loosely wrapped in a black cloak, greets the viewer with a smile. In his hand is an empty drinking glass that explains the relaxed atmosphere. This informality, further emphasized by the depiction of a missing tooth, suggests a close relationship between the artist and the sitter. The leather gauntlet and lace collar demonstrate the sitter’s desire to be seen as a person of status. Better known today as a painter of religious and mythological subjects, Simon Vouet excelled in portraiture from youth. According to the French historian André Félibien, Vouet traveled to England to paint “a portrait of a lady of quality” at the age of 14, and seven years later, to Constantinople to portray the “Grand Seigneur” of the Turks.