The fact that a copy was made suggests the importance of the present work, but it also reveals a significant change. Find more prominent pieces of portrait at Wikiart.org - best visual art database. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.16). the painting under her new married name to Knoedler and Co., New York, (577 720 pixels, file size: 253 KB, MIME type: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. Full title: Portrait of a Young Man: Artist: Bronzino: Artist dates: 1503 - 1572 : Date made: probably 1550-5: Medium and support: Oil on wood: Dimensions: 75 57.5 cm: Acquisition credit: On loan from a private collection: Inventory number: L40 . IV.I, pp. 13. A half-length portrait of a dark-haired, bearded young man attired in a richly brocaded blackish purple coat, a white embroidered collar, a black cape, and a black velvet hat with a whitish gray feather. [5] See Susan R. McKillop, Franciabigio, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1974, cat. P. Jeromack, Reviews: Old Master Drawings,, R. Ward and S. Heffley, Restoration Reveals Full Beauty of This portraitamong Bronzino's most arrestingwas painted in the 1530s. C5321, January 1921-April 1925. Read the additional visitor guidelines, Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola), Italian (Florentine) Painter (possibly Jacopo Zucchi, Florence 15411590 Rome), Ross Finocchio Portrait of a Young Man - Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano 99, p. 101, Agnolo Bronzino catalogue raisonn, 1973; User:Rlbberlin/1; File:Agnolo Bronzino - Portrait of a Young Man.jpg; File:Angelo Bronzino 063.jpg; File:Portrait of a Young Man - Il Bronzino.png; File:Portrait of a Young Man MET DT7.jpg (file redirect) , The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June Carved on this table is, what appears to be, a grotesque face! Portrait of a Young Man | artble.com In the 1969 record of it in an exhibition of treasures from the art institute it was named a Portrait of an Author. In both cases this may suggest that as the copyist, whose touch is harder and more formal than the charming and warm face Bronzino has created of his friend, substituted the text of the account ledger Sofferoni works in with something more generically like literature, thereby altering the picture into a more normal portrait of a writer. View in Augmented Reality. Bronzino, Portrait of a Young Man - National Gallery, London nat. The goal of such images is to hide the actual words on the books or letters, but to make it clear what sort of context the writing belongs. 2) ca. cat. 1542-43, Charcoal and black chalk, with stumping, highlighted with white chalk; outlines partly incised for transfer; sheet: 11 5/16 x 8 1/2 in. The sitter is not known, but he must have belonged to Bronzino's close circle of literary friends in Florence, a number of whom sat for the artist. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. nherited by his Franois, Nuova guida della citta di This page is not available in other languages. Edi Baccheschi, Catalogue (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021). The Portrait of a Young Man with a Book is an oil on board painting by Agnolo Bronzino, executed c. 1540. John Herron Art Museum, 1954), (repro.). Pictures of the Renaissance: Florentine School, vol.1 (London and New York: BronzinosPortrait of a Young Mancontains many cluesalluding to the young mans identity, you just have to look closely! The controlled atmosphere of court life is reflected in the slightly aloof detachment of this portrait of an unknown sitter. (exh. Portrait of a young man Agnolo Bronzino 1531. Great Paintings, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, July Alloris father, Tofano Allori, a spadaio who worked for both Duke Alessandro de Medici and Cosimo I de Medici was the best friend of Bronzino. Theres one at theLouvreshowing a youth holding a statue. The controlled atmosphere of court life is reflected in the slightly aloof detachment of this portrait of an unknown sitter. Exposition 1).1 Even though the instr. Portraits Portrait of a Young Man, c. 1550-55, London, National Gallery Bronzino first received Medici patronage in 1539, when he was one of the many artists chosen to execute the elaborate decorations for the wedding of Cosimo I de' Medici to Eleonora di Toledo, daughter of the Viceroy of Naples. (Kansas City, MO: William Furthermore,with the image of the handsome face floating above three masklike faces, Bronzino reminds us that identityis something like a self-formed mask. Indianapolis, February 14-March 28, 1954, no. Portraits by Salviati capture a similar sense of sophistication and formality in their meticulous treatment of the sitters fashionable dress (55.14). [10], A copy of the present portrait was described in the Lanfranconi sale of 1895 (Lugt, Lanfranconi 1895, p. 8, no. Fine Arts Center, 1947), unpaginated, (repro.). Portrait of a Young Man as Saint Sebastian - Wikipedia This is a young man emerging into the adult world. Portrait of a Young Man with a Book (Bronzino), by Bronzino, c. 1530-1540 This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Portrait of a Young Man with a Book. Knoedler by George Eastman (1854-1932), Rochester, New York, August 1913-February (May, 1950): unpaginated, (repro.). no. It entered that museum's collection in 1984 from a private collection in Rieti. Young Lady,, Phillippe Costamagna, Osservazioni sullattivit giovanile Bronzino. Elizabeth Pilliod, The Poetry of Bronzinos Portraits, to be published, London, 2022. Bronzino - Portrait of a Young Man All structured data from the file namespace is available under the. However, an image of this painting is not available to download. Connections: Taste by George Goldner and Diana Greenwald. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. It is also possible that Vasari misspoke saying that the portrait was a daughter of Matteo di Francesco Sofferoni and instead meant to refer to a daughter of Francesco di Ser Matteo Sofferoni. Portrait of a Young Man with a Book - Wikipedia Original file(577 720 pixels, file size: 253 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File information Structured data Captions Captions English Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents Summary[edit] DescriptionBronzino - Portrait of a Young Man, 1550-1555.jpg English: Portrait of a Young Man Date between 1550 and 1555 They say that the way you dress has a lot to say about a person! Florence and Central Italy, 14001600 A.D. Florence and Central Italy, 16001800 A.D. Venice and Northern Italy, 14001600 A.D. Venice and Northern Italy, 16001800 A.D. [2] See Alessandro Cecchi, Famose Frondi di dui santi honori: un sonetto del Varchi e il ritratto di Lorenzo Lenzi dipinto dal Bronzino, Artista (1990), pp. 1918; Inherited by his wife, d'osservazione con pianta e vedute (Florence: Presso His left arm crosses in front of his body, and both hands rest on the golden hilt of a sword, visible at lower left. 1989): 240. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. 1503 - 1572. Henry Currie Marillier, Christies, (They appear in full party mode in Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne of 1522-3, also in the National Gallery.). di alessandro Allori- Seconda parte- Les portraits, Antichita Viva 27, no. M. Knoedler and Co., Mannerism and Masks: Bronzino's Portrait of a Young Man See Elizabeth Pilliod, Pontormo, Bronzino, Allori: A Genealogy of Florentine Art, New Haven and London, 2001, fig. 1529-30 and The Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap Carlo Neroni? James Thomas Herbert Baily, The Taylor Collection, Connoisseur 34 (SeptemberDecember, His clothing has an elegant severity, yet his hair is roughly cropped. 86-96. This article about a sixteenth-century painting is a stub. The Portrait of a Young Man is one of Bronzino's greatest portraits. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, January-July 15, 1991 (no Visiting Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty or Van Goghs Cypresses? Michelangelo's statue depicts the rage of youth; Bronzino's Bacchus is gentler, but there's the same implication of raw excess. (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), 125, (repro.). 21 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mae Caldwell Manfaring Plant Hayward (d. 1956), New York, November 1918-March Subject: The youth's identity is uncertain. Charles McCorquodale, Bronzino May 8-July 29, 2018, Palazzo Pitti, Florence; September 7, 2018-January 6, 2019, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; and February 5-April 28, 2019, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles), cat. contorni, 2nd ed. However, his style is already clearly deviating from that of his master as Bronzino had begun to emphasize the opaque nature of the physical shapes he is painting. L.R., Honderdjarig Bestaan van M. Knoedler & Co., Phoenix: Maandschrift voor Beeldende Kunst 1, Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook At the Met, Florentine Master's Spirited Drawings - The New York Times Bronzino (1503 - 1572) | National Gallery, London However, each of these theories is in some way problematic, and the young man's identity currently remains a mystery. This young man certainly has a hyper-sensitive taste! Giorgio Steininger, 1853), 549. 2. , Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, July The highly individual styles of these two painters incorporate the elongated figure proportions, twisted poses, and compression of space that distinguish central Italian Mannerism (1982.319; 13.75). m. 0,94, lar. de Exposition de tableaux anciens provenant de collections particulieres. Its present whereabouts is unknown. In fact, Bronzino lived with Dianora and Tofano in their house in Via Adimari, and after Tofanos death in 1541 Bronzino undertook the care of the entire Allori clan. Masterpiece of the Month, Gallery News (William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts), Thirteen Gerald Reitlinger, The At the very least we know that this young man is well-educated! Excellent, exh. The book is doubtless a collection of poems. George L. Stout, Condition: Excellent, Art News 50 (March 1951): 26, (repro.). 45, as Pontormo. Some characteristics common to many Mannerist works include distortion of the human figure, a flattening of pictorial space, and a cultivated intellectual sophistication. Unframed: 33 3/4 x 27 inches (85.73 x 68.58 cm), Framed: 46 1/8 x 39 5/8 x 2 3/4 inches (117.17 x 100.66 x 6.99 cm), Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, His poems are full of references to the homosexual subculture of 16th-century Florence. (London: Christie, Manson and Woods, July 5, 20v, National Gallery, London. Christie, Manson and Woods, London, July 5, 1912, lot 15, by Knoedler and Co., New 6 Copy after the present work. Portrait of a Young Man - Works - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Since 1846 to an Expanding Country,, L.R., Honderdjarig Bestaan van M. Knoedler & Co.,. That tradition is best embodied by Francesco Cristofano called Franciabigio (Florence 1484-1525). September 24, 2010- January 23, 2011, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence), cat. The following other wikis use this file: Usage on arz.wikipedia.org Find more prominent pieces of portrait at Wikiart.org - best visual art database. The intense tones and gracefully choreographed figures in Pontormos crowded Deposition in the Church of Santa Felicit (Capponi Chapel, Florence) heighten the emotional pitch of the picture and show a taste for elegance and artifice also seen in the stylized head and intricately braided hairstyle of Rossos Woman with an Elaborate Coiffure (19.76.11; 52.124.2; 49.97.233). fig. Portrait of Guidubaldo della Rovere Agnolo Bronzino 1532. Agnolo Bronzino's portrait of a Young Man with a Lute in the Ufzi painted in Florence around 1532-34, an unidentied youth dressed austerely in black sits in a small, dark room with a statuette visible to his side and, more discreetly, the pegbox of a lute's neck leaning against his right thigh (Fig. 'Portrait of a young man' was created in c.1531 by Agnolo Bronzino in Mannerism (Late Renaissance) style. Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 90, His face is porcelain-hard, yet he blushes slightly. Despite everything we can learn about this young man, his true identitystill remains a mystery. Portrait of a Young Man with a Book (Bronzino) - Wikipedia Phillippe Costamagna, Osservazioni sullattivit giovanile P. Jeromack, Reviews: Old Master Drawings, Art & Auction 12, no. K1, K10, (repro.). 1530. The long history of this painting attests to its importance. to Knoedler and Co., New York, stock book 6, no. Bronzino himself composed verses in the style of the great Florentine poet Petrarch (13041374), and the fanciful and witty details in this picturethe carved grotesque heads on the table and chair and the masklike face suggested in the folds of the youth's breecheswould have been appreciated by writers as comments on masks and identity. to Greco: The Age of Mannerism, exh. (repro.). Emanuele Repetti, Notizie e guida di Firenze e de suoi Matteo was also involved with overseeing the financial administration of the construction of the Mercato Nuovo in the 1540s designed by Giambattista del Tasso. Until the birthdate of Matteo is ascertained, it is uncertain if this latter. Portrait of a Young Man - Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano, called Bronzino Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more. Youll see a similar grotesque masklike face on thechair. (Florence: G Piatti, 1841), 428. Bronzino parodies the mask-like face of his . Giuseppe Category:Portrait of a Young Man with a Book (Agnolo Bronzino 'Portrait of a Young Man with a Book' was created in c.1538 by Agnolo Bronzino in Mannerism (Late Renaissance) style. Condition See on MetPublications. Since 1846 to an Expanding Country, Art Fantozzi, Nuova guida, ovvero descrizione Adoration of the . 1530, private collection, Fig. That may be supported by the fact that according to Vasari Bronzino made a portrait of a daughter of Matteo Sofferoni as well (fig. These compare to the hands in Pontormos Portrait of Francesco Guardi (The J.Paul Getty Musuem, 89.PA.49; fig. [5] Although both portraits differ from Bronzinos image in including backgrounds, they are similar in that the sitters directly look out at the viewer and the paper or books displayed by the sitter are written in normal everyday script and are, apparently deliberately, illegible in part. Active at the same time as these innovative artists, Bachiacca (14941557) developed an eclectic mode that combined Mannerist influences and quotations from Northern artists like Albrecht Drer and Lucas van Leyden with older Renaissance conventions (38.178; 1982.60.11). The movement emphasized complexityin naturalistic representation. June 21, 1919; her second husband was Commodore William Hayward. Sexual ambiguity was associated with Bacchus. (repro.). Philippe Costamagna, Pontormo, Milan, 1994, pp. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. Modern Pictures & Drawings formed by the late John Edward Taylor, Esq., 1528 to 1532 (Castello Sforzesco, Milan) in a number of respects (fig. Altre interpretazioni lo vogliono per Francesco Salviati o il figlio maggiore del granduca Cosimo de' Medici. 1914; Returned by Eastman I dont know about you but, to me, it resembles a Halloween creature orscarecrow! cat. , exh. Portrait of a young man, c.1531 - Agnolo Bronzino - WikiArt.org January 10, 1948, no. (c) 2007 The Nelson Gallery Foundation-All Reproduction Rights Reserved. Agnolo Bronzino - 85 artworks - painting - WikiArt.org no. in Bronzino: Artist and Poet at the Court of the Medci, Carlo Falciani and Antonio Natali, eds. 7, p. 595. di A. del Sarto. Firenze: ossia descrizione di tutte le cose che vi si trovano degne Last edited on 27 September 2020, at 18:32, https://www.nelson-atkins.org/collection/european/, Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, Wikidata:WikiProject sum of all paintings/Creator/Bronzino, Wikidata:WikiProject sum of all paintings/Collection/Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Wikidata:WikiProject sum of all paintings/Collection/The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bronzino_-_Portrait_of_a_Young_Man,_1550-1555.jpg&oldid=473461304, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Italian painter, poet and architectural draftsperson, 4,294,967/536,870,912 sec (0.007999999448657), 49-28_Bronzino-PortraitOfAYoungMan_front.tif. The Portrait of a Young Man is one of Bronzino's greatest portraits. It has been argued that he may be Cosimo de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [9] Matteo Sofferonis connections to the Pontormo-Bronzino-Allori group coupled with his profession make him a plausible candidate for the identity of the sitter in this early portrait by Bronzino. Unknown Bronzino It was recognized as an account book by Frederick M. Artist: Agnolo di Cosimo (1503-72), who renamed himself Bronzino, was a practitioner of the climactic Renaissance style mannerism, in which the technical discoveries of Italian painting were stretched and subverted. PDF Bronzino's Lute Player: Music and Youth Culture in Renaissance Florence [8] Sofferoni was also involved in the literary set and was a good friend of the artist Franciabigio, who according to Vasari painted a portrait of him. [6]In the other case, that of the Knight of Rhodes who looks up from reading a letter, only the date 1514 is legible. Even in a letter sent to fight a court battle Bronzino employs this hand. 1530-1539), Oil on wood, 37 5/8 29 1/2 in 3 Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of Lorenzo Lenzi, 1527-28, 90 x 71 cm. For this painting Bronzino used Pontormo's very influential composition of the portrait of Francesco Guardi as a halberdier. 10, pp. According to Vasari he is the boy on the steps in his teacher Pontormo's 'Joseph with Jacob in Egypt', also in the National Gallery. The sitter is not known, but he must have belonged to Bronzino 's close circle of literary friends in Florence, a number of whom sat for the artist. Presso Giuseppe Ducci, 1847), 600. September 24, 2010- January 23, 2011, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence), pp. Agnolo Bronzino | Portrait of a Young Man (ca. 1530-1539) - Artsy The sitter is not known, but he must have belonged to Bronzino's close circle of literary friends in Florence, a number of whom sat for the artist.Bronzino himself composed verses in the style of the great Florentine poet Petrarch (1304-1374), and the fanciful and witty details in this picturethe carved grotesque . On the Knight of Rhodes also see Bastian Eclercy in Maniera: Pontormo, Bronzino and Medici Florence, Bastian Eclercy, ed. Sign up for email updates from the THATMuse blog. Starting in Italy, it lasted from 1520 to 1600. Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1949), 42, (repro.). probably October 7, 1855), National Gallery, London. In the present picture the type of book is a ledger. cat. 1989), clipping, NAMA curatorial files. catalogue). Renaissance and Baroque Art, Denver Art Museum, December 17, 1947- Paintings from the 15th Century to the Present Time, Crandall de Lopera completa del Bronzino (Milan: Rizzoli, 1973), no. Royal Collection Trust, Windsow Castle, Fig. File : Angelo Bronzino - Portrait of a Young Man.jpg But what a pose. Angelo Bronzino 063.jpg 2,536 3,246; 374 KB Portrait of a Young Man MET Bronzino detail left hand.jpg 4,575 3,567; 1,004 KB . Thus the present portrait, which in stylistic comparisons alone, appears very close to Pontormos works of around 1528, is indeed early also because the inclusion of texts relies on an earlier tradition. There's a further meaning. (Indianapolis: The But which adult world? (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Portraits of Cosimo de Medici (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms Maurice Brock, Bronzino, trans. Great Paintings, exh. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. de tableaux anciens provenant de collections particulieres, M. Knoedler and Co., File : Bronzino - Portrait of a Young Man, 1550-1555.jpg Portrait of a Young Man Bronzino 1550/1555. Turner, R.A., Works by City, Missouri, 5th ed., vol. [6] For the few words on the book that are legible, see John Shearman, The Early Italian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Cambridge and London, 1985, cat. no. The cloth is pulled aside to reveal a hidden theatre of desire; in the recesses we see an object from his art collection, offering proof of his intellectual curiosity but also a sign of hedonism. National Gallery, London WC2 (020-7747 2885). Important Painting by Pontormo from the Collection of Chauncey D. Stillman (New It has previously been thought that this portrait may represent one of the elder sons of Duke Cosimo de' Medici, Bronzino's principal patron. Oil on wood, 37 29 in. York: Christies, May 31, 1989), 37n58. Mannerist artists loved creating compositional tension and instability. 20-August 30, 1947, no. cat. 5 Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of a Lady in Green, ca. (repro.). Portrait of a Young Man 1530s Oil on wood, 96 x 75 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Bronzino achieved his greatest distinction in these years as a portrait painter, and by the early 1540s he had become the leading exponent in Florence. If you require a license for commercial use of this image, please use the National Gallery Company's Online Picture Library or contact them using the following: This is one of Bronzinos most complex and enigmatic paintings. Another feature these share are the fine brushstrokes Pontormo used in applying paint around eye sockets, across cheeks, down noses, around and on the lips. Thirteen Agnolo Bronzino, "Head of a young Man," ca. d'osservazione con pianta e vedute. January 10, 1948, no. The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 15121570. The Victorian critic JA Symonds saw Bronzino's "inexpressibly chilly portraits" as marked by the artist's "personal corruption". (Denver: The Denver Art Piccola Collezione DArte N. 15, Florence, 1921, pl. A2782 and CA2118, March Although Andreas style was rooted in the artistic ideals of the High Renaissance, such as the integration of naturally proportioned figures in a clearly defined space, his expressive use of vibrant color and varied, complex poses inspired the first generation of Mannerist painters in Florence (22.75; 32.100.89). (Private Collection; fig. 23, 1944 [3]; Purchased from Hayward Public Library, Glens Falls, New York, August 31-September 30, 1946, no. [7]Moreover, a few words and symbols can be deciphered on its pages. These grotesque faces offer adistinct contrast to the youths handsome face. It likely depicts a literary friend of the artist holding open a collection of poetry. 6. Falciani, eds.. Better yet, join us for atreasure hunt! An (Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs Paris, April 23- May 24, 1913, no. The pink drapery behind him is erotic, setting off the blush on his cheek and lips. Portrait of a Young Man - Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. [10]Vasari-Milanesi, vol. Mannerism: Bronzino (15031572) and his Contemporaries. In, Bust of a Woman with an Elaborate Coiffure, Virgin and Child with Saint Elizabeth, the Infant Baptist, Saint Anthony of Padua, and a Female Martyr, The First Fruits of the Earth Offered to Saturn, The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, Plate 12: Diana standing in a niche, twisting to her left and pulling an arrow out of a quiver, with a deer to her right, from "Mythological Gods and Goddesses", The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Jupiter and Juno: Study for the "Furti di Giove" Tapestries, Seated Male Nude (Study for the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence), Northern Mannerism in the Early Sixteenth Century, Birth and Family in the Italian Renaissance, Jacopo dal Ponte, called Bassano (ca. Portrait of a young Man as Saint Sebastian - Bronzino. (New York: M. A Young Woman and Her Little Boy Allegorical Portrait of Dante Allegory of Happiness An Allegory with Venus and Cupid Cosimo I de' Medici in Armour Deposition of Christ Eleonora di Toledo Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici Piet Portrait of Andrea Doria as Neptune Portrait of Bia Medici Daughter of Cosimo Portrait of Don . The National Gallery has endeavoured to make as many images of the collection as possible available for non-commercial use. Although the sitter cannot be identified, he is likely a member of Bronzino's close circle of literary . The Collections of the. 27) and was subsequently in the collection of the Dayton Art Institute. no. Google Classroom Bronzino, Portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni, 1544-45, oil on panel, 115.00 x 96.00 cm (Galleria degli Uffizi) A marriage The marriage of Eleonora of Toledo and Cosimo I de' Medici is perhaps one of the great love stories of the Renaissance. 2. She consigned (Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs 21; p. 133, fig. cat. On view in Gallery 999 as part of the exhibition The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512-1570. He is depicted full face against a plain gray background; his eyes look slightly to the right. The Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap, the Portrait of Lorenzo Lenzi and the present portrait all depict men holding letters or books, a motif that had been well-established in Florentine portraiture and adapted from Northern painting of the fifteenth century.
