Portrait of a Man

Antonio di Donnino del Mazziere was a Florentine painter active in the early sixteenth century whose work is closely associated with the circle of Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. This Portrait of a Man, at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg, represents the modest but reliable tradition of Florentine workshop portraiture during the High Renaissance — a period when demand for portraits among the Florentine merchant and civic classes was high. The painting's presence in Strasbourg points to the dispersal of Italian Renaissance works across Europe through trade and collecting, even during the sixteenth century itself. Del Mazziere's portraits are honest, competent documents of Florentine physiognomy and dress.

Standard Florentine three-quarter portrait format with plain dark ground. The face is modeled with careful attention to individual character, with warm ambient light and restrained chiaroscuro. Sober garments, typical of Florentine merchant dress, are rendered without ornamental distraction.