''Portrait of a Cardinal'', or simply ''The Cardinal'', is an oil on panel painting by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

artist

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 ...

, dated to . It is held by the

Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

in Madrid. Raphael had arrived in Rome in 1508, and quickly found great success during the papacy of

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

. He mastered the art of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

in his paintings: the ability to "paint people as more real than they really are", as Pietro Bembo put it. The three-quarter length portrait depicts a young cardinal, probably in his thirties, seated, wearing a red cape and cap with white shirt, against a dark background, looking calmly towards the viewer.

Pentimenti A pentimento (plural pentimenti), in painting, is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". The word is , from the verb , meaning 'to repent'. Significance Pentimenti may show that ...

show that Raphael shortened the hair, and moved the left eye. The identify of the subject has been a matter of considerable debate, with proposed candidates in the court of

including

Bernardo Dovizi Bernardo Dovizi of Bibbiena (4 August 1470 – 9 November 1520) was an Italian cardinal and comedy writer, known best as Cardinal Bibbiena, for the town of Bibbiena, where he was born. Biography He received a substantial literary training, ...

(known as Bibbiena),

Innocenzo Cybo Innocenzo Cibo (25 August 1491 – 13 April 1550) was an Italian cardinal and archbishop. Family and education From the Genoese family Cibo, in 1488 the Cybo family purchased Florentine citizenship for a considerable sum of money I ...

, Scaramuccia Trivulzio, Alessandro Farnese,

Ippolito d'Este Ippolito (I) d'Este ( hu, Estei Hippolit; 20 March 1479 – 3 September 1520) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, and Archbishop of Esztergom. He was a member of the ducal House of Este of Ferrara, and was usually referred to as the Car ...

Silvio Passerini Silvio Passerini (1469 – 20 April 1529) was an Italian cardinal. Biography Born in Cortona, Passerini was taken under the wing of the powerful Florentine Medici family, after his father, Rosado, was imprisoned for too openly supporting the Medi ...

, Antonio Ciocchi, Matthäus Schiner or

Luigi d'Aragona Luigi d'Aragona (1474–1519) (called the Cardinal of Aragón) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He had a highly successful career in the church, but his memory is affected by the allegation that he ordered the murder of his own sister and ...

. According to the Prado, it is perhaps most likely to be

Francesco Alidosi Francesco Alidosi (145524 May 1511) was an Italian cardinal and condottiero. He accompanied Giuliano della Rovere to France in 1494, and continued in favor when Della Rovere was elected pope, becoming Pope Julius II. Alidosi was elected as bisho ...

(1455–1511), also depicted by Raphael in his 1509–1510 work the ''

Disputation of the Holy Sacrament The ''Disputation of the Sacrament'' ( it, La disputa del sacramento), or ''Disputa'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1510 as the first part of Raphael's commission to decorate with fresc ...

'', or possibly

Bendinello Sauli Bandinello Sauli (c. 1481 – 28 March 1518) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Bandinello Sauli was born in Genoa, ca. 1481, the son of nobles Pasquale Sauli and Mariola Giustiniani Longhi. .Hyde, Cardinal Bendinello ...

(). The seated subject's upright body and horizontal left arm, resting on an unseen arm of a chair, create a triangular composition, after

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...

''. The strong lighting makes striking contrasts between the red of the cardinal's hat and cape, the whiteness of his sleeve and face, and the dark background. Meticulous brushstrokes give the audience a three-dimensional character, revealing Rapahel's interest in sculpture during those years. The painting was bought in Rome by

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother = Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place ...

(1748–1819), while he was still the

Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...

. Due to its technique, which was considered unusual for Raphael, the picture was attributed to Antonio Moro for some time before the attribution was reassessed. The work entered the

Spanish royal collection The Spanish royal collection of art was almost entirely built up by the monarchs of the Habsburg family who ruled Spain from 1516 to 1700, and then the Bourbons (1700–1868, with a brief interruption). They included a number of kings with a seri ...

, and was catalogued at the

Royal Palace of Aranjuez The Royal Palace of Aranjuez ( es, Palacio Real de Aranjuez) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez (Madrid), Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the pal ...

in 1818; it was later transferred to the Prado.

Notes

References

External links

* Cardinal 1510 paintings Cardinal Paintings by Raphael in the Museo del Prado {{16C-painting-stub

See also

Notes

References

External links