''Study for Cardinal Niccolò Albergati'' is a silverpoint drawing attributed to the

Early Netherlandish Early Netherlandish painting, traditionally known as the Flemish Primitives, refers to the work of artists active in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands during the 15th- and 16th-century Northern Renaissance period. It flourished especiall ...

painter

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

, made in preparation for his ''

Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati The ''Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati'' is a painting by early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dating to around 1431 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria. Niccolò Albergati was a diplomat working under Pope Mar ...

'' of 1431.

Niccolò Albergati Niccolò Albergati (1373 – 9 May 1443) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Carthusians. He became a cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and had served as a papal diplomat to France and England (1422–23) in ad ...

was a diplomat working under

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

. He met van Eyck during a peace congress in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, when the artist portrayed him. It is held in the collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. The drawing, along with the ''

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...

'' in the

Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth t ...

and ''

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

'' are the three surviving drawings by van Eyck. This work is especially valuable to art historians as it includes notes made to indicate the colors intended for the final oil portrait. The preparatory study shows an elderly cleric who is visibly aging and imprinted with deep lines below his eyes. The work is a commission; Albergati is shown near full frontal and dressed in the red robe of a cardinal, and his gown is lined with luxurious fur.Harbison, 42

Notes

Sources

* Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn. ''From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art''. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. * Borchert, Till-Holger. ''Van Eyck''. London:

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Taschen Comics, pu ...

, 2008. * Conway, Martin. "A Head of Christ by John van Eyck". ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', Volume 39, No. 225, December 1921 * Harbison, Craig. ''Jan van Eyck, The Play of Realism''. London: Reaktion Books, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of Cardinal Niccolo Albergati 15th-century drawings Drawings by Jan van Eyck Portraits by Jan van Eyck