PAINTED in 1474, Antonello Da Messina’s Portrait of a Man is striking for its naturalness and luminous quality. The face is of an unknown man in a setting with a plain black background, no landscape or vista behind him. “The sitter’s gaze meets our own, establishing a suggestive dialogue,” says the Galleria Borghese’s catalogue of its finest masterpieces. Da Messina’s portrait is far more beautiful where it hangs in the famous Roman gallery than it appears here and yet the pleasure of establishing a dialogue with this interesting, subtle face remains. You can also see a better version of it here at Art Renewal.

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