Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640), A portrait of a carmelite prior, Antwerp, about 1616, oil on wood. Purchased 1999 with contributions from The Art Fund and the Friends of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts (No.99.1). The Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

A man dressed in the austere habit of the Carmelite order prays in front of a crucifix. 

The order was dedicated to contemplative prayer. The man’s identity is not known, but his rapt gaze and the sympathetic treatment of his hands suggest a sincere and deep faith. The portrait may date from 1616 when Rubens was painting a large altarpiece for a Carmelite church in Brussels. The artist himself was devout and he painted a number of portraits of ecclesiastics.

(source http://barber.org.uk)