Portrait of a Young Gentleman

Gallery 313a, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Main Building

Portrait of a Young Gentleman

1474

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni di Michele de Antonio) (Italian (active Messina, Naples, and Venice), first securely documented 1456, died 1479)

Antonello da Messina transformed the Renaissance portrait in paintings like this one, in which the face emerges from the dark background and the sitter’s steady gaze confronts the viewer. He created this composition shortly before traveling to Venice, where his work greatly influenced Giovanni Bellini (Italian, first documented 1459, died 1516), who is considered the founder of Venetian Renaissance art.

Gallery 313a, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Portrait of a Young Gentleman

Date:

1474

Artist:

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni di Michele de Antonio) (Italian (active Messina, Naples, and Venice), first securely documented 1456, died 1479)

Medium:

Oil on panel

Dimensions:

12 5/8 × 10 11/16 inches (32.1 × 27.1 cm) Frame: 17 1/2 × 15 5/8 × 1 1/2 inches (44.5 × 39.7 × 3.8 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

John G. Johnson Collection, 1917

Accession Number:

Cat. 159

Geography:

Made in Sicily, Italy, Europe

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Gallery 313a, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Main Building

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