Soll Ich Offnen?: An elderly man in 16th-Century costume holding a jewel casket

A characteristic work of Menzel's artistic maturity, the present bodycolour blends psychological insight with a bravura display of technical skill in the representation of rich fabrics. From the start, Menzel conceived this as an image that should tell a story: when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon and then in a show organised by the Vienna Künstlergenossenschaft in 1870, it was described not as the head of a man, but as 'Soll ich offnen?' ('dois-je ouvrir?' at the Salon). Menzel described it more thoroughly in his account book on 2 March 1871, when he recorded its sale to the collector and connoisseur Eugen Possart for 80 Friedrichs d'or, as 'Costüm-Studie 16. Jahr: Graubart mit Kästchen' (Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen, Berlin).

Possart's grand house in central Berlin, Friedrichsgracht 58, provided a visual testament to his passion for the arts. The grand staircase was ornamented with reliefs and a sculpture group by Possart's friend the sculptor Reinhold Begas. It is not clear when the portrait left Possart's collection; it does not seem to have been examined in the original by Hugo von Tschudi prior to its inclusion in his 1905 catalogue, where details of the signature and size are omitted.

In a letter dated 18 September 2011, Dr Marie Ursula Riemann-Reyher confirmed the attribution to Menzel and provided much helpful information regarding the drawing's history and provenance, for which we are grateful.