Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?)

Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) (previously Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban) is the title given to a small oil painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, completed in 1433 in Bruges. The inscription at the top of the frame, which is original, reads the first known instnce of his motto Als Ich Can (intended as the pun "as I/Eyck can", perhaps implying "as only I, van Eyck, can") was a common autograph for van Eyck but here is the first known usage and unusually is large and prominent. This and the sitter's unusually direct and confrontational gaze have been taken as an indication that the work is a self-portrait.

Van Eyck's portrait of his wife in Bruges was probably a pendant to this painting, although her portrait is dated 1439 and larger. It has been proposed that van Eyck created the portrait to store in his workshop so that he could use it to display his abilities (and social status, given the fine clothes evident in the portrait) to potential clients. However, his reputation was such in 1433 that he was already highly sought after for commissioned work.

The panel has been in the National Gallery, London, since 1851, and is hung alongside van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. The panel has been in England since its acquisition by Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, probably during his exile in Antwerp from 1642 to 1644.