A Gentleman in a Banyan holding a Letter

Frans van Mieris (1635 - Leyden 1681). Oil painting on panel (arched top), A Gentleman in a Banyan holding a Letter by Frans van Mieris (1635 - Leyden 1681), signed on letter: FvM in monogram. A three-quarter-length portrait, standing at the foot of a stircase, resting his right elbow on the baluster and holding in his right hand a document on which is the monogram of the artist; he looks to the left and wears a yellow satin coat with a red sash round his waist. A map hangs on the wall, a plan of fortifications, indistinctly inscribed, and with the final letters of a name (YENE) visible, at the left and behind the sitter is part of a classical doorway through which shleves of books are visible. Ascott Estate, Buckinghamshire