Portrait of a Collector
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Portrait of a Collector'' is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino, executed around 1524.


History

The work, together with other four attributed to Parmigianino, was listed in the "wardrobe" of Ranuccio Farnese in 1587, as a ''Portrait of a Priest''. A more detailed description from 1670, of the works in the Palazzo del Giardino at Parma, also identifies the subject as religious man. The painting arrived in England in the early 19th century, in the collections of Lord Radstock, and was later auctioned at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
as Parmigianino's self-portrait. In 1857 it became part of the collections of Lord Strafford at
Wrotham Park Wrotham Park (pronounced , ) is a neo-Palladian English country house in the parish of South Mimms, Hertfordshire. It lies south of the town of Potters Bar, from Hyde Park Corner in central London. The house was designed by Isaac Ware in 1754 ...
, being acquired by the National Gallery in 1977. It was published for the first time in an art history journal in 1940, on '' Emporium'', which assigned it to the Roman sojourn of the painter. It was later considered earlier, to c. 1524, basing on stylistic similarities with works of that period. In particular, the bas-relief is similar to that in the fresco of ''Sts. Lucy and Apollonia'' at
San Giovanni Evangelista San Giovanni Evangelista is a church in Ravenna, Italy. It was built in the fifth century AD by the Roman imperial princess Galla Placidia. In the Middle Ages the Benedictines annexed to it an important monastery. In the 14th century both the ch ...
, while the portrait scheme and technique recalls the ''
Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale ''Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale'' (1524) is a painting of the condottiero Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. History Parmigianino work ...
''. There are at least two old copies of the painting, one in the Uffizi depot (inventory 3971) and one at the Walker Art Center of Minneapolis, United States.


Description

The first art historian to clarify that the subject was not a priest was Freedberg, in 1950, identifying him as Francesco Baiardi. Today he is considered an unknown collector, who holds the ''Offiziolo Durazzo'', a miniated
breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...
today housed in the
Biblioteca Civica Berio The Biblioteca Civica Berio (est. 1775) of Genoa, Italy, is a public library founded by . Around 1998 it moved into the former in the quartiere. Among its collections is the library of Demetrio Canevari. References ''This article incorporate ...
at Genoa. This work had been executed some twenty years before the painting by Francesco Marmitta, a painter from Parma who has been erroneously considered Parmigianino's master. The man is the same appearing in a portrait in London, attributed by some to
Dosso Dossi Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, better known as Dosso Dossi ( 1489–1542), was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the School of Ferrara, painting in a style mainly influenced by Venetian painting, in particular Giorgione and early T ...
. The subject, who is illuminated by a frontal source, wears a wide black coat lined in fur, and a hat of the same color. His left hands holds the ''Offiziolo'', whose decorated cover is painted in the finest details; the right hands lies on the table, and has a golden ring with a precious stone at the little finger. Near it are a bronze statuette in ancient style, perhaps a female divinity (identified by some as
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás st ...
), three bronze medals and an ancient silver coin: these objects were added as a show of the man's cultural interests. In the left background is a marble bas-relief of Mars, Cupid and Venus, a typical theme of the Platonic Academy, while on the right is a landscape.


References


Sources

*


External links


National Gallery.org.uk: ''Portrait of a Collector'' webpage
{{Parmigianino Collector Collector 1520s paintings Paintings in the National Gallery, London Books in art