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Portrait of Bindo Altoviti (Raphael)
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Bindo Altoviti is a painting finished around 1515 by the Italian
High Renaissance
painter Raphael
. It is housed in the National Gallery of Art
of Washington, D.C.
, United States.
Bindo Altoviti was a rich banker born in Rome
in 1491, but of Florentine
origin. He was a cultured man who loved the arts.
The graceful, almost effeminate position of the subject along with the heavy contrast between light and shadow are atypical of Raphael's work, particularly of his portraits of men, demonstrating the artist's experimentation with different styles and forms in his later Roman period. The influence of the works of Leonardo
, which Raphael studied astutely during this period of his career, are strikingly evident in this particular piece.
The painting was a property of Altoviti’s descendants until 1808, when it was sold to Ludwig I of Bavaria
. It remained at the Alte Pinakothek
until 1936, when, after many debates about its attribution, the painting was lured out of Nazi Germany by "canny English dealers"http://yalepress.yale.edu/YUPBOOKS/book.asp?isbn=9780300108248. Acquired by Samuel Kress, the portrait subsequently became property of the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C.
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
painter Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
. It is housed in the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States.
Bindo Altoviti was a rich banker born in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1491, but of Florentine
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
origin. He was a cultured man who loved the arts.
The graceful, almost effeminate position of the subject along with the heavy contrast between light and shadow are atypical of Raphael's work, particularly of his portraits of men, demonstrating the artist's experimentation with different styles and forms in his later Roman period. The influence of the works of Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, which Raphael studied astutely during this period of his career, are strikingly evident in this particular piece.
The painting was a property of Altoviti’s descendants until 1808, when it was sold to Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
. It remained at the Alte Pinakothek
Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek is an art museum situated in the Kunstareal in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings...
until 1936, when, after many debates about its attribution, the painting was lured out of Nazi Germany by "canny English dealers"http://yalepress.yale.edu/YUPBOOKS/book.asp?isbn=9780300108248. Acquired by Samuel Kress, the portrait subsequently became property of the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Further reading
- David Brown and Jane Van Nimmen. Raphael and the Beautiful Banker: The Story of the Bindo Altoviti Portrait. Yale University Press, 2005.