A Man with a Skull

This seemingly straightforward portrait was one of the National Gallery's most controversial purchases of the nineteenth century. Bought in 1845 as 'the Gallery's first Holbein', its authenticity was quickly cast into doubt. Recent dendrochronological analysis of the panel - a method of determining the age of a piece of wood by analysing its pattern of rings - shows that it was made after Holbein's death.

We're not sure who the sitter was, but the coat of arms in the upper corner suggests he came from Brussels or Leuven or the surrounding area and is probably a member of the Heverlee family. Michiel Coxcie was the most important portrait painter working in Brussels when this was made, and stylistic comparison with his other paintings confirms him as the artist.

Credit: Bought, 1845