Late 16th century Tizianesque painter

Possible Alonso Sánchez Coello (c.1531–1588)

Official portrait of governor in ceremonial armor, with noble coat of arms to be traced back to the Spanish Court

Oil on canvas, cm. 114 x 98

In antique frame cm.139 x 120 cm

Notes: With regard to the noble coat of arms, we can note in its composition that the sections of the coat of arms recall the Anjou of Naples, the County of Aragon and the families of modern Burgundy. This would lead us to identify our portrayed as a governor, an exponent of the Spanish Empire, which included these areas in the second half of the sixteenth century.

This fascinating male portrait in pose, where the portrayed of noble social extraction is immortalized with a sumptuous ceremonial armor, can be recognized as a work of a Renaissance painter of Italian heritage, and precisely from the scope of Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 - Venice 1576).

Titian made a decisive contribution to making the sixteenth century the golden century of portraiture, in which the ancient classical tradition of realistic representation, attentive to the definition of the individual characters of the characters, is revived and renewed. In Venice at the end of the century, Titian therefore became one of the most sought after 'representative' portrait painters: his specialty was the court portrait, with which he immortalizes sovereigns, popes, cardinals, princes and leaders generally full-length or more often half-length, three-quarters or seated, in official poses.

The themes of strength, manly prowess, the audacity of weapons and armor, became very topical in the sixteenth century, suggesting that being portrayed in arms was a real necessity to impose one's status and to convey an image of authority. and the legitimate exercise of power.

As we can see in our portrait, the painter's attention is placed on the physiognomy and meticulousness with which the armor was outlined. The purpose is clear: the representation of the power embodied in our austere portrait.

From a chronological point of view, we can place its execution around the second half of the sixteenth century.

Our author is extremely attentive to details and perfectly executes the model: standing half-length figure, slightly three-quarter length, with the helmet alongside, a dark background that enhances the minute details of the chisels of the armor, a severe expression and a look that hardly yields to the temptation to stare at the viewer. The pictorial quality of the painting, not alien to Flemish suggestions, the safety of the installation and the richness of the details, attest to the skills of the portraitist.

In order to reach a plausible attribution it is appropriate to make a digression on the importance that Titian assumed for portraiture at a European level: already appointed official painter of the Serenissima, in the mid-sixteenth century the career of the master was by now immense, so much so that among his greatest admirers and clients were Charles V and his son Philip II of Spain, although he never moved from Venice.

As a favorite painter of the Spanish court, the growing success of his artistic production was validly supported by the prolific workshop, becoming the most sought-after artist among the powerful of the Italian and European courts, who now vied for his works. His atelier near the Grand Canal, near San Samuele, was an efficient workshop, where artists from all over Europe came to join, even for a short period, in order to learn their techniques and style.

Based on these considerations, even if it is difficult to attribute the painting to a specific painter due to the increasingly strong stylistic analogy between the Titian painters, we will be inclined to trace his hand among the great portrait painters of the Spanish court, who came into contact with Titian in their 'forced' travels to Venice, often imposed by the rulers themselves.

For a possible paternity we want to advance the names of Juan Pantoja de La Cruz and Martino de Rota (Sibenik about 1520 - Vienna 1583), although perhaps the most fitting name is that of Alonso Sánchez Coello (c.1531-1588), painter of room of King Philip II of Spain who stayed both in Flanders, where he was a pupil of the painter Antonio Moro and in Venice, where he personally learned the portrait style of the master Titian, of whom he copied numerous paintings.

The painting is in good condition. Complete with gilded frame, ancient but not coeval.

Ulteriori informazioni su questo testo di originePer avere ulteriori informazioni sulla traduzione è necessario il testo di origine