The Charlatan (Mei)

It shows an aged charlatan seated on an armchair resting on a trestle stage in the Piazza del Campo, the main square of the Tuscan town of Siena.

The man is hefty and dressed in old, filthy clothes -he bears a dirty white robe with a blue sash, white leggings and heavy black shoes- and an unkempt beard; Bernardino has unflatteringly portrayed him as a mixture of a second rate Old Testament prophet, tattered alchemical philosopher, and the forbidding Roman god Saturn.

The old man's simple-minded audience looks up at him with a sense of wonder and awe; one, dressed in a rose-coloured gown, is so overcome that he seems about to faint and reaches for a sniff of a remedy to regain strength.

Mei has abandoned any pretence of perspective, the charlatan is several times larger than the member of his audience, and is seemingly suspended in the air, floating above the rabble below.

Mei utilises mostly dark tones, and although the main figure is hugely imposing to the viewer, the overall mood is sombre and melancholy.