Portrait of a Humanist
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1520
Historical Context
Sebastiano del Piombo's Portrait of a Humanist, painted around 1520, depicts an unidentified scholar during the High Renaissance period when Rome was the intellectual capital of Europe. The sitter's thoughtful expression and scholarly bearing suggest a man of letters, possibly connected to the papal court. This portrait dates from Sebastiano's most productive Roman period, when he was celebrated for his ability to combine Venetian color with the grandeur of Michelangelo's figure style.
Technical Analysis
The oil technique on panel transferred to hardboard shows Sebastiano's rich, warm palette and smooth modeling of flesh. The sitter's face is illuminated with the controlled chiaroscuro that gives his portraits their characteristic gravity and psychological depth.
Provenance
Ghizzi family, Naples; sold by 1821 to a Marquess of Lansdowne; Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Bowood Hall, Wiltshire, England, by 1821; by inheritance to Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne [1816-1866], Bowood Hall; by inheritance to Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne [1845-1927], Bowood Hall, until at least 1914.[1] (Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London), on joint account with (M. Knoedler & Company, New York); and (Pinakos [Rudolf Heinemann], New York); sold 1955 to to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1961 to NGA. [1] According to Mrs. Anna Jameson, _Companion to the Most Celebrated Private Galleries of Art in London_, 1844: 306-307. [2] M. Knoedler & Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Stock book no. 10, p. 115, no. A5476, and Sales book no. 17, p. 155 (copies in NGA curatorial files). Receipt dated 7 February 1955 from M. Knoedler & Co., in NGA curatorial files. See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1671.
See It In Person
More by Sebastiano del Piombo
Christ Carrying the Cross
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1515–17
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (born about 1446, died 1506)
Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Luciani)·1519
Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise Virgin
Sebastiano del Piombo·c. 1510
Cardinal Bandinello Sauli, His Secretary, and Two Geographers
Sebastiano del Piombo·1516
