Painted in Bergamo, this canvas reveals Moroni’s innate gifts as a portraitist, which were based on his remarkable ability to offer an objective depiction of real life in which the Lombardo-Venetian tradition combined with his knowledge of northern art. Moroni was more concerned to convey his sitters’ physical appearance or social position than to investigate their personality in any depth. The id
John Frederick I of Saxony (Torgau, 30 June 1503–Jena, 3 March 1554), Duke of Saxony-Wittenberg from 1532, was the principal defender of Luther, a fact that brought him into conflict with Charles V. In 1546 these differences resulted in an armed conflict that culminated at Mühlberg on 24 April 1547 when the Imperial army defeated the Schmalkaldic League and captured its leaders, John Frederic
On 16 April 1529 Federico II Gonzaga, First Duke of Mantua (1500-1540), apologised to his uncle Alfonso d’Este for retaining Titian: perché ha conienzo un retratto mio qual molto desidero sii finito (because he has started a portrait of me which I greatly desire to be finished). In 1530 a second portrait of Federico in armour is also recorded. Typologically and conceptually, the present por
Described by Lodovico Dolce as a gentleman of great merit and infinite goodness, Daniele Barbaro (1513-1570) was from a noble Venetian family. He was educated to the highest level first in Verona and then at Padua University. A philosopher of neo-Aristotelian leanings, he became friends with important Venetian humanists, some of whom were also portrayed by Titian, such as Pietro Bembo (Washington,
Having trained in Venice, probably with Giovanni Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto worked in Treviso (1503-1506), Recanati (1506- 1508) and Rome (c. 1508-1510) before settling in Bergamo.There, between 1513 and 1526, he painted for influential families such as the Tassi, Bonghi, Brembati and Cassotti.The Cassotti, wealthy textile merchants originating from Valle Imagna, used the arts to demonstrate their soc
Titian painted his first self-portrait before leaving for Rome in 1545. However, it was after his Roman stay that he showed the most interest in disseminating his image in order to fully establish his position in a context of intense rivalry with Michelangelo. In 1549 Paolo Giovio acquired a self-portrait by the artist for his Museo in Como, while in 1550 the painter had another one sent to Charle
The unknown subject of this portrait has been identified, inconclusively, as either Gianello della Torre, a clockmaker at the Spanish court, or some member of the Cuccini family. Whether or not the figure is a Knight of Malta has been questioned due to supposed anomalies in the cross sewn onto his clothing, despite the fact that it is an enhanced octagonal cross of the Order of Malta, made of whit
The Nobleman with the Golden Chain is the finest portrait by Jacopo Tintoretto at the Museo del Prado and one of that painter’s most outstanding, overall. While historians disagree about its chronology, the artist’s mastery of both the model’s anatomy and his relation to the surrounding space link it to his so-called portraits in motion from the 1550s. In fact, it is even more sophisticated and ef
Modigliani identified the sitter as Agnese, the painter’s sister-in-law, through her resemblance to the woman who appears in the Portrait of Arrigo Licinio and his Family (Rome, Galleria Borghese, inv. 115). As that painting is datable to around 1540, the present work must have been executed between 1525 and 1530 as Agnese here appears considerably younger than in the Rome portrait, by which point
This profile portrait and its pair, Aristotle (E314), were in the collection of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503-1575), humanist, Spanish ambassador to Venice and a friend of Titian, before they entered that of Philip II. As a sophisticated symbol of the study and philosophy of classical antiquity, the two philosophers were frequently included as an evocative reference in the decoration of studies a
This image of Aristotle was in the possession of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1504-1575), poet, bibliophile, antiquarian and imperial ambassador in Venice between 1539 and 1546, when he moved to Rome. Aristotle formed a pair with a portrait of Plato, also now in the Prado (E305), and both were given by Mendoza to Philip II. Hurtado de Mendoza’s passion for philosophy (he was a gran Aristotélic