Rosso Fiorentino, 'Portrait of a Young Man', 1518.
London, The National Gallery.

Recent Acquisition

'Portrait of a Young Man'

1518

Rosso Fiorentino
(1494 - 1540)

NG6584

The National Gallery has been fortunate to acquire a rare and striking portrait by Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540), by Private Treaty sale.

Rosso was one of the most original, talented and unconventional Florentine artists of the early 16th century. As a young man he was trained by Andrea del Sarto, alongside another brilliant young painter Jacopo Pontormo, his exact contemporary. The young artists' experiments with brilliant colours, a freer technique and more abstract forms laid the foundations for a new style of painting, subsequently termed 'mannerism'.

The portrait, the earliest of only five known by Rosso, is a typical product of his early years. It reveals something of his eccentricity, particularly in the strange spiky fingers, the curiously abstract style and the characteristically swift way of working the paint.

Although it is not signed, the distinctive manner in which it is painted is as good as a signature. Although the features of the face all but dissolve when viewed close up, the sketchy brushstrokes blend into a powerfully convincing and memorable likeness when seen from a distance.

The sitter, yet to be identified, glances up from the letter he has just received, as though interrupted by the viewer. The letter, dated 22 June 1518, bears further traces of writing which may yield clues to the sitter's identity. His gaze is at once dreamy yet also penetrating.

This sense of psychological realism and immediacy was only just beginning to find a place in portraiture at the time the work was painted, appealing to the rising class of wealthy and intellectual patrons.

Recent generous legacies have helped towards the purchase price of around £2 million for this painting, payable in more than one financial year. The remainder has come primarily from private support.

Oil on panel, 108 x 88 cm

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