Baldassare Franceschini (Il Volterrano), 'Bust of a Man', about 1645
About the work
Overview
A man with a characterful face looks out at us engagingly. His features are carefully described – small eyes with pointed stare, a bulging nose, heart-shaped lips, a double chin and receding hairline. The identity of the sitter is unknown but his dress, with elegant fur trim across the front of the jacket and a delicate fringed tie around the collar, implies that he is quite affluent.
The paint has been swiftly applied, with the brushstrokes remaining visible in a number of areas: see, for example, the parallel strokes suggesting shading on the underside of the chin. The loose, impressionistic technique is that of fresco – painting in mineral pigments suspended in wet plaster – resulting here in a great freshness and immediacy. Although fresco painting is usually associated with a fixed wall surface, portable works on wicker, slate or, as here, terracotta tiles, were quite common in Florence. Franceschini was one of the most famous and prolific fresco painters working in the city during the seventeenth century.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Bust of a Man
- Artist dates
- 1611 - 1690
- Date made
- about 1645
- Medium and support
- fresco on terracotta tile
- Dimensions
- 50.7 × 35.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1921
- Inventory number
- NG3589
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1801J. Christie, A Catalogue of a Select Part of the Capital, Valuable, and Genuine Collection of Pictures, the Property of the Rt. Hon. Sir W. Hamilton, K.B., London, 27 March 1801 - 28 March 1801
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1809Christie's, A Catalogue of the Very Choice and Extremely Valuable Library of Books… Pictures… the Property of the Late Sir William Hamilton… and the Rt. Hon. Lord Viscount Nelson, London, 8 June 1809 - 10 June 1809
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1864Christie, Manson & Woods, The Illustrated Catalogue of the Valuable Collection of Pictures, and Other Works of Art… of that Eminent Connoisseur, John Watkins Brett, London, 5 April 1864 - 18 April 1864
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1921National Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square: Catalogue of the Pictures, London 1921
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1922National Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square 1922 Supplement to the Catalogue of Pictures, London 1922
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1925National Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square: Catalogue, London 1925
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1929National Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square: Catalogue, 86th edn, London 1929
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1971M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
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1973G. Ewald, 'Unknown Works by Baldassare Franceschini', The Burlington Magazine, CXV, 1973, pp. 272-83
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1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
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1997K. Sloan, 'Sir William Hamilton's "Insuperable Taste for Painting"', Journal of the History of Collections, IX/2, 1997, pp. 205-27
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this work or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.