Portrait of a Gentleman in a Black Doublet Holding a Medallion C.1575/80; Florentine School, Antique Oil on Panel Painting

In this magnificent oil on panel portrait, posing alongside a table dressed with red cloth, the young fashionable man is dressed in a black slashed doublet and white collar. Despite the restraint in the choice of hues the attire is made from the highest quality fabrics which were immensely costly.

In the Florence of the second half of the Cinquecento, the art of Medicean portraiture attained its zenith. This period would see the establishment of the Academy of Florence, whose purpose was to promote the Tuscan language, and the foundation of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (‘Academy and Company for the Arts of Drawing’). Artists assembled in confraternities (‘Companies of pleasure’), whose main aim was to have a good time and indulge in artistic exploits. The distinguished sitter would have witnessed a profound transformation in the city of Florence into a veritable centre of power with citizens having an increasing personal affirmation of self-image and desire to leave their mark for posterity. Portraits were brilliant and complex symbols of luxury.

Bearing a cool, proud expression he holds in his right hand a medallion or cameo, partially obscured by his thumb, depicting a bust of a man. This was a prop often used to indicate that the sitter was a cultivated individual. Associations such as this were popular in portraiture, as sixteenth-century Florentines likened themselves to members of the ancient Roman Republic. The architectural background appears in many Florentine portraits of the period.

This sitter’s assumed confidence and refined costume suggest he was a figure of some standing, possibly a member of the Medici court in Florence, whose portraits rivalled one another in their representation of every detail of luxury and refinement.

Held in a fine quality luxurious gilded cassetta type frame with applied scrolls.

Provenance:

Lewis J. Ruskin, Scottsdale, AZ, by 1958;

Thence by descent until sold, New York, Sotheby's Arcade, 24 April 1995, lot 42;

Private collection New York

Exhibited:

Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, Italy, Mostra Nazionale Antiquaria, no. 414

Measurements:

Height 105cm, Width 91cm, Depth 9cm framed (Height 41.25”, Width 35.75”, Depth 3.5” framed)

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