Why Is There a Fly on This Portrait?

A painted insect and a later halo change our relationship to an unnamed man. CHAPTERS 0:00 An Unexpected Visitor 0:43 A Person in a Particular Room 1:16 Where the Fly Seems to Land 2:10 The Signature That Looks Cut Into Wood 3:08 The Halo That Came Later 3:56 How an Addition Changes an Identity 4:46 An Illusion and a Possible Symbol 5:24 The Face After the Discoveries SOURCES Met: Portrait of a Carthusian, 49.7.19 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435896 Met: open collection record and registered image files https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/public/collection/v1/objects/435896 Met journal: Intentional Alterations of Early Netherlandish Paintings https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Intentional_Alterations_of_Early_Netherlandish_Paintings_The_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_40_2005.pdf Met: Intentional Alterations of Early Netherlandish Painting https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/intentional-alterations-of-early-netherlandish-painting Met Open Access API documentation https://metmuseum.github.io/ Met: Masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006 https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Masterpieces_of_the_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art_2006.pdf IMAGE CREDITS Petrus Christus, Portrait of a Carthusian, 1446, oil on oak. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Jules Bache Collection, 1949, 49.7.19. Open Access, CC0. Petrus Christus, Portrait of a Carthusian, 1446, 49.7.19. Infrared image supplied by The Met Open Access API, LC-49_7_19_IRR.jpg. CC0. Date not stated. Original script and explanatory guides by The Art Detail. Authentic registered reproductions; guides are labelled. Licensed synthetic narration: Andrew Dragon HD Latest. The Art Detail · Small details. Remarkable stories.