Wautier’s study depicts an elderly, bearded man, looking upwards, against a dark background. In terms of composition, the work corresponds to her paintings of Saint Joseph and Saint Joachim, both of which belong to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Like the saints, Wautier’s study of the old man is also half-length. Several quick strokes of white pigment, which illuminate the man’s shirt in the dark, bear witness to Michaelina’s pictorial skills and technical prowess. The principal difference with the works depicting Joseph and Joachim is that this study was not finished in detail, although the fluid brushwork and dashes of brown and ochre are relatively similar, as Van der Stighelen’s research proves. These similarities allowed her to date the study, made from life, to around 1655. At that time, only men were allowed to paint from living models. Consequently, the painted study was erroneously attributed to Anthony van Dyck for many years.
