Portrait of a Young Man in Black

This picture by an unknown artist was once thought to portray Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, but a portrait of him in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire shows a different man. He looks out at us with a faint smile, his long, thick hair brushing his forehead and pale cheeks. His costume – the elaborate high lace collar hugging his chin, lace cuffs and the white shirt showing through the slits in his sleeves – seems to date the portrait to the second half of the 1630s.The painting includes a small symbolic depiction of a tiny seated Cupid wearing a crown. He holds an arrow, appearing to use it to pierce the flaming heart on which he sits. Below him is a Latin motto: sic puer ille manet (‘he is still young’). It’s not clear what exactly this emblematic addition refers to.