It somehow feels like a part of ikonostasis because of the gold color. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say it looks religious but it reminds me of those paintings in the orthodox church.
It is a great portrait! His skin color, beard and eyes are so realistic!
Thank you for sharing! It is a beautiful piece of art!
You are absolutely right, the gold is commonly associated with sacred, especially in the East - Byzantinium Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism - they use gold a lot in decoration and depiction of deities. For me gold leaf was more like experimental surface to push paint around and it seems I liked it. The idea to try it out came when I saw Edgar Maxence's painting in d'Orsay museum in Paris a couple of months back.