Painting by Titian
Portrait of Alfonso I d'Este Metropolitan copy
Artist Unknown (original - Titian ) Year Unknown (original c.1523) Medium oil on canvas
The Portrait of Alfonso I d'Este is a now-lost painting by Titian , dating to 1523. It was painted as a pendant to the Portrait of Laura Dianti of the same year (Laura Dianti was Alfonso I d'Este 's lover) and is now known through copies, one of which is by Rubens and another of which is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York . Others are held in the collections of the countess of Vogüe Commarin at Dijon and the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen - the latter is the oldest but only shows the head and shoulders.
The painting showed its subject with his right hand on the muzzle of a cannon and his left hand on the hilt of his sword, underlining his martial prowess during a tense time in his relations with the papacy. It was an influence on Dosso Dossi 's later portrait of the duke in a similar pose, leaning on a cannon.
The original was seen by Vasari and admired by Michelangelo on the latter's visit to Ferrara in 1529. It was later given to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , who kept it for a time in Bologna before taking it to Spain . It is mentioned in the 1666 and 1686 inventories of the Royal Alcazar of Madrid , but disappeared during the 18th century.
See also
Bibliography
Francesco Valcanover, L'opera completa di Tiziano , Milan, Rizzoli, 1969.
External links
Portraits Self portraits Secular Religious Museums Related