Portrait of a Man (With a Fragment of Antique Column)

Paris Bordone

date:
measurements: výška 115.5 cm, šírka 95.0 cm (obraz)
výška 153.0 cm, šírka 133.0 cm (rám)
work type: painting
object type: easel painting
genre: portrait
material: canvas
technique: oil
inscription:
institution: Slovenská národná galéria, SNG
curator: Zuzana Ludiková
inventory number: O 91
tags: muž portrét pohľad
in collections:
licence: Creative Commons License public domain
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A middle-aged man leaning on the torso of a fluted column turns towards us. An average type whose face perhaps has not completely lost its poetic qualities. The subject’s expression reveals his state of mind, instead of the depiction of an emotional state or another manifestation of direct behavior. The interesting posture, motion and clothing also hint at his social rank. A sign of superior status, the man holds gloves in one hand with a cloak on his shoulder, while causally leaning against the column.

The past is represented by the motif of ancient times. A broken column generally symbolizes one of the cardinal virtues, fortitudo. The meaning of a broken column is in a related full length portrait of a man in Milan (Brera) by Giovanni Battista Moroni (around 1525–1578) interpreted by a quotation from Horace’s Odes, according to which no disaster can discourage a man, who is celebrated in verses. The loss of a close friend or relative could be the hidden topic of this portrait.

Only the face and hands of this unknown man are illuminated. His expression allows the audience to feel closer to the painting. This is the most dramatic moment. It is not the character, but a new artistic ideal and visual experience which resonate most distinctively when looking at this painting. It was probably painted by Paris Bordone, a portraitist of the wealthy from Northern Italy and Bavaria.

It is very similar to Portrait of a Man with Red Sleeves (Galleria di Palazzo Rosso, Genoa). The pose is even more distinctively repeated in the painting, Man in Armor with Two Pageboys (New York, Metropolitan Museum).
 

Zuzana Ludiková ● LUDIKOVÁ, Zuzana - BURAN, Dušan. Talianska maľba = Italian Painting. Bratislava : Slovenská národná galéria, 2013. 242 strán. ISBN 9788080591748.