French School of the 19th Century, Portrait of a Young Man, 1891 Oil on Canvas

French school of the 19th century. Portrait of a young man, 1891. Signed (illegible) and dated '91 at the bottom right. Oil on canvas. In good condition, recently cleaned, with some minor restorations visible under UV, re-stretched and mounted on a new frame. Unfortunately, the signature of this beautiful Impressionist portrait could not be deciphered at this stage, but the brushwork and mastery indicate an original artistic personality. Very energetic and self-assured, as evidenced by the vigour of the signature. The question arises as to whether this might be a self-portrait of the artist. The pose and gaze suggest this, as does the relative blur of the hand, which may have been engaged in drawing. In any case, all the clues point in that direction.