''Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale'' (1524) is a painting of the
condottiero Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale by the Italian late
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
artist
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, B ...
. It is housed in the
National Museum of Capodimonte
Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...
,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
History
Parmigianino worked for a short period at the Sanvitale family court in their
"Rocca" (palace-fortress) in
Fontanellato
Fontanellato (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the Autostrada A1 (Italy), A1 autostrada, about west of Parma towards Piacenza.
The town was ...
(in what is now the
province of Parma). The work, dated 1524 on the rear, was executed during his stay there, before he moved to Rome the following year. He also executed the ''Stufetta'' of Diana and Actaeon and a cycle of frescoes in the private room of Paola Gonzaga, wife of
Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale.
The work was part of the
Farnese collections in 1587, when it is mentioned for the first time in an inventory. The work had been perhaps acquired by duke
Ottavio Farnese
Ottavio Farnese (9 October 1524 – 18 September 1586) reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 until his death and Duke of Castro from 1545 to 1547 and from 1553 until his death.
Biography
Born in Valentano, Ottavio was the seco ...
in 1561 when he acquired from bishop Eucherio Sanvitale the ''casino'' (mansion) of Codiponte, in the Ducal Park of Parma. Eucherio was the son of
Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale, and had inherited the family's possessions in 1550.
The portrait, together with the whole Farnese collection, was moved from Parma to Naples in 1784. The French removed it in 1799, and it was later at Palermo until 1816, before returning to Naples.
[ During the various changes of hands the painting lost its original identification, and was considered a portrait of ]Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
(likely due to the presence, in the hat, of a representation of the Pillars of Hercules
The Pillars of Hercules ( la, Columnae Herculis, grc, Ἡράκλειαι Στῆλαι, , ar, أعمدة هرقل, Aʿmidat Hiraql, es, Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank t ...
) from Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
's school. A descendant of Galeazzo Sanvitale, Luigi, recognized his ancestor based on some documents, in 1857. The re-attribution to Parmigianino occurred in 1894.[
There are some preparatory drawings at the Cabinet des Dessins of the ]Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
(6472 recto and verso) and in the Tobley Collection.[
]
Description
The work is a "parade portrait", destined to enhance the count's image in front of his guests, and not a private depiction: this is visible in the rich display of objects showing his interests and his refined costumes.
The count, then 28, is portrayed on a "Savonarola" chair from three-quarters but with the face looking towards the viewer. He wears a wide black jacket, according to the contemporary ''alla Francese'' ("French-style") fashion, under which two red sleeves and the white shirt (with embroideries at the wrist) are visible. The elegant beret is in the same scarlet as the sleeves, and sports gilt pearls, a plum and a decorative cameo. The French style of the clothes is an allusion to the political allegiance of the Sanvitale at the time.
The left hand lies on the chair's armrest: it has a golden ring with a stone on the little finger, and holds a glove, near the sword's hilt. The other hand is wearing a glove, and shows a bronze medal with two symbols. These symbols have been interpreted as a "C" and an "F", hinting at the title of ''Comes Fontanellati'' ("Count of Fontanellato"), or as a "72" (based on earlier inventories). The meaning of the number is subject to several speculations. It has been connected to alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, an allusion to the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
or to the conjunction of the Sun and Moon, referring in turn to the marriage of Galeazzo and his wife Paola Gonzaga. There is no historical record that Sanvitale practiced alchemy: although Parmigiano likely did, art historians have found no reason he should insert coded elements into a portrait.
On a table behind Sanvitale are pieces of a shining armor and a flanged mace, symbols of his military role as condottiero. Behind a wall, on the right, is a landscape with a tree.
See also
* Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo
References
Sources
*
External links
Page at museum's official website
{{Authority control
Sanvitale
1524 paintings
Sanvitale
Paintings in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte