Franciabigio, 'Portrait of a Knight of Rhodes', 1514
About the work
Overview
The date 1514 is just visible on the letter carried by the sitter, although the words are illegible. The inscription in the parapet reads, in primitive French, ‘who loves well is slow to forget’. The sitter wears the Maltese Cross of the Order of Saint John. In 1514 Franciabigio was working for the Order painting a fresco of the Last Supper in their convent in Florence. The prioress who commissioned the fresco from Franciabigio was a Medici, and it has been suggested that the sitter of this portrait is Giulio de’ Medici, who was made a Knight of Rhodes in 1513. After Giulio was made Pope Clement VII, he was personally responsible for securing the island of Malta for the Knights in 1530. However, this identification is uncertain.
Franciabigio’s portraits are among his finest works for their immediacy and psychological intensity. From Andrea del Sarto he adopted the soft smoky shadows of the face and the smouldering melancholy expression. However, the composition ultimately derives from portraits painted by Raphael during his period in Florence.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Portrait of a Knight of Rhodes
- Artist
- Franciabigio
- Artist dates
- about 1484 - 1525
- Date made
- 1514
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 60.3 × 45.7 cm
- Inscription summary
- Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1878
- Inventory number
- NG1035
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2016Maniera. Pontormo, Bronzino and Medici FlorenceStädelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie24 February 2016 - 5 June 2016
Bibliography
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1864J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A New History of Painting in Italy: From the Second to the Sixteenth Century, 3 vols, London 1864
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1872W.F. Maitland, Catalogue of Pictures at Stansted Hall, n.p. 1872
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1901A. Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana, 11 vols, Milan 1901
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1916G. Gronau, 'Franciabigio', in U. Thieme and F. Becker (eds), Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Leipzig 1916, vol. 12
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1948J. Alazard, The Florentine Portrait, London 1948
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1961S.J. Freedberg, Painting of the High Renaissance in Rome and Florence, Cambridge MA 1961
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1962Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1963F. Sricchia Santoro, 'Per il Franciabigio', Paragone, CLXIII, 1963
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1965R. Monti, Andrea del Sarto, Milan 1965
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1965L. Vertova, I cenacoli fiorentini, Turin 1965
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1965L. Marucci, 'Franciabigio', in G. Bazin et al., Kindlers Malerei Lexikon, Zürich 1965, vol. 2
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1974S.R. McKillop, Franciabigio, Berkeley 1974
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1975C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
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1980Palazzo Strozzi, Il primato del disegno, Milan 1980
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
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1994C. Del Bravo, 'Ritratti petrarchesi', Artista, 1994, pp. 128-35
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1995D. Lee, William Fuller Maitland 1813-1876, n.p. 1995?
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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.