''Portrait of Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page'' is a 1533 portrait by

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

Alfonso d'Avalos Alfonso d'Avalos d'Aquino, 6th Marquis of Pescara, 2nd Marquis of Vasto (1502 – 31 March 1546), was an Italian ''condottiero'' of Aragonese origins, renowned for his service in favour of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Biogr ...

, a general in the service of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

. It has been in the J. Paul Getty Museum, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, since 2004. After '' Venus and Adonis'' (1555–1560) and ''Penitent Magdalene'' (1555–1561), it was the third Titian work to enter the Getty collection.

History

Titian produced the work in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. It was inherited by the subject's son marquis Francesco Ferdinando d'Avalos (c. 1530–1571) and probably remained in the family for a time after this. It moved to Poland at an unknown date and was owned by kings

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

and Stanislaus Augustus. It was probably then donated to the

Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...

, who retained it until 1921, when Alfred Potocki sold it to countess Martine-Marie-Pol de Béhague (1870–1939). She left it and the rest of her collection to her nephew Hubert de Ganay. In 1989 de Ganay's heirs auctioned off much of the collection at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in Monte Carlo and the following year the insurance company

Axa Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...

acquired the Titian for 65 million francs. Axa lent the painting to the Louvre for twelve years, with the option to buy it for 65 million francs plus inflation, a preferential price. The deal was arranged by the Louvre's director Pierre Rosenberg, but his successor Henri Loyrette let the twelve years expire, leaving the Getty to buy the work for $70 million. Since the painting was in private hands and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux had decided against purchasing it, the French state could not veto its sale outside of France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page Portraits by Titian category:1533 paintings category:16th-century portraits category:Portraits of men category:Paintings of children Paintings in the J. Paul Getty Museum Oil on canvas paintings

History

See also

References