I know nothing about this strange and silly painting. The only caption attached to it said that it was German or Austrian. From the attire, I would date this to the very end of the eighteenth century or the early nineteenth, but he could easily be in costume, which would very much confuse the issue. I suspect that this rather delightful image is a portrait of some sort of performer in character/costume for a favorite role.
Its origin as German or Austrian would only point up the outrageous foppishness of the gentleman pictured, since their menswear was more restrained than elsewhere in Europe at the time. I would be inclined, myself, to impute a satirical meaning to this, and if not that then, yes, perhaps a stage character. Interesting, and really, rather charming in its naive style.
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