Depict as a sinister man (7)
I believe the answer is:
portray
'depict' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'a sinister man' is the wordplay.
'a sinister' becomes 'port' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'man' becomes 'Ray' (Man Ray was a o0th-century artist).
'port'+'ray'='PORTRAY'
'as' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for portray that I've seen before include "Play" , "Describe in words or make a picture" , "sketch" , "Depict in art" , "Use words to describe" .)