Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de' Rossi is a painting by the Italian
High Renaissance
painter Lorenzo Lotto
, dating to 1505. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte of Naples
, southern Italy.
The work dates to Lotto's stay in Treviso
, and featured a cover (with title, signature and dates, identified as the Allegory of Virtues and Vices now at the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, United States
. The portrait was brought to Parma
by Bernardo de' Rossi
when he fled there in 1524. Here it became part of the Farnese collection, which was transferred to Naples in 1760.
. Such an attention to details was inspired by Antonello da Messina
, in turn influenced by the Flemish art and perhaps directly by Northern European artists such as Albrecht Dürer
, whose drawings could have been seen by Lotto
The red mantel is backed by a green embroidered drapery, a common element of Venetian painting of the period. The roll is perhaps an allusion to the sentence against the conjurers who had attempted to de Rossi's life two years before.
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 Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto
Lorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...
, dating to 1505. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, southern Italy.
The work dates to Lotto's stay in Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, and featured a cover (with title, signature and dates, identified as the Allegory of Virtues and Vices now at 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, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The portrait was brought to Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
by Bernardo de' Rossi
Bernardo de' Rossi
Bernardo de' Rossi was an Italian bishop and patron of the arts.-Biography:The son of a feudal family of the area of Parma, at a young age he received the archdiaconate of Padua and the Abbey of St. Crisogonus in Zadar. In 1488, thanks to the support of the Republic of Venice, he became Bishop of...
when he fled there in 1524. Here it became part of the Farnese collection, which was transferred to Naples in 1760.
Description
The painting shows the donor's bust from three-quarters, the face looking at the seer. As in other portraits by Lotto, the subject is portrayed with a striking realism, including the reddish complexion, the hollows under the eyes, the expressive blue eyes and the light epidermic imperfections. The curly hair is partially getting out from the black birettaBiretta
The biretta is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three peaked biretta is worn by Roman Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. The four peaked biretta is worn as academic dress by those holding a doctoral degree from a...
. Such an attention to details was inspired by Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio was an Italian painter from Messina, Sicily, active during the Italian Renaissance...
, in turn influenced by the Flemish art and perhaps directly by Northern European artists such as Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, whose drawings could have been seen by Lotto
The red mantel is backed by a green embroidered drapery, a common element of Venetian painting of the period. The roll is perhaps an allusion to the sentence against the conjurers who had attempted to de Rossi's life two years before.
See also
- Allegory of Virtues and Vices (Lotto)
- Portrait of a Young Man with White Drape