Official portrait of a knight in armour (probably Charles V of Habsburg)

Oil on canvas

141 x 112 cm.

In antique frame 142 x 113 cm.

This fascinating posed manly portrait, in which the effigy of noble social extraction is immortalised in sumptuous ceremonial armour while holding the sceptre of command, can be recognised as a work by a Renaissance painter of Italian heritage, specifically Titian Vecellio (Pieve di Cadore 1490 - Venice 1576).

Titian made a decisive contribution to making the 16th century the golden age of portraiture, in which the ancient classical tradition of realistic portrayal attentive to the definition of individual characters was revived and renewed. In turn-of-the-century Venice, Titian thus became one of the most sought-after 'representational' portraitists: his speciality was the court portrait, with which he immortalised sovereigns, popes, cardinals, princes and condottieri, generally full-length or more often half-length, three-quarter-length or seated, in official poses.

The themes of strength, virile prowess and the boldness of arms and armour became highly topical in the 16th 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 painting, the painter's attention is focused on the austerity of the physiognomy and pose in armour aimed at the representation of power, embodied in our effigy.

Our painter is extremely attentive to detail and executes the model perfectly: a figure standing half-length, slightly three-quarter-length, with the staff of command held as if it were a royal sceptre, a dark background that enhances the minute details of the chiselling of the armour, a severe expression and a gaze that yields to the temptation to stare at the spectator.

In order to arrive at a plausible attribution, it is appropriate to digress on the importance that Titian assumed for portraiture at a European level: already appointed official painter of the Serenissima, by the mid-16th century the master's career was already immense, so much so that among his greatest admirers and patrons were Charles V and his son Philip II of Spain, although he never moved from Venice. The work is in fact extremely similar to one of the many portraits that Titian painted of the Habsburg king Charles V (1500-1558), in armour and with the baton of command, executed around 1530, the traces of which have been lost, but which has been handed down to us thanks to a copy made by Rubens in 1603 (link: https://www.everypainterpaintshimself.com/article/rubens_copy_of_titians_charles_v_in_armor_with_a_d.... )

The painting is in a good state of preservation. Complete with gilded frame.