Portrait of a Bearded Man in Black
painter
Giovanni Battista Moroni
(Albino, Italy, about 1525 - 1578)
Date1576
Place MadeBergamo, Lombardy, Italy, Europe
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions173.5 x 103.5 cm (68 5/16 x 40 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP26w1
eMuseum ID723342
EmbARK ObjectID12193
TMS Source ID1327
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryGiovan Battista Moroni painted religious works and decorative schemes, but his fame derives from his portraits. The man in this work has not been identified, although he certainly exudes personality. The set of his jaw and his direct gaze demonstrate his resolve; Moroni shows him confidently stepping forward, one hand on the hilt of his sword. The neutral background, with Moroni’s characteristic imaginative architectural detail, allows the figure to command all our attention – save, perhaps, for the curiously thin-limbed, ghostly shadow on the wall behind him. The shadow heightens the believability of the depiction by marking his position in illusionistic space.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Portrait of a Man," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 93.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Portrait of a Man," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 93.
BibliographyNotesArt Exhibition: Mrs. John L. Gardner, 152 Beacon St., Boston. Exh. cat. (Boston, 1899), p. 2, no. 10.
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 20.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 248-49.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 214.
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 56.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), p. 168.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 72-73.
Kristin A. Mortimer. "Report of the Curator." Fenway Court (1985), pp. 71-72.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 41, 43-44.
S. J. Freedberg. Painting in Italy: 1500-1600 (New Haven and London, 1993), p. 595.
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000).
Peter Humfrey et al. Giovanni Battista Moroni: Renaissance Portraitist. Exh. cat. (Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum, 2000), p. 23, fig. 8.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 92-93.
Cynthia Saltzman. Old Masters, New World: America’s Raid on Europe’s Great Pictures (New York: Penguin Books, 2008), p. 59.
Aimee Ng. Moroni: The Riches of Renaissance Portraiture. Exh. cat. (New York: The Frick Collection, 2019), pp. 203-206, fig. 103.
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 20.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), pp. 248-49.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 214.
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 56.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), p. 168.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 72-73.
Kristin A. Mortimer. "Report of the Curator." Fenway Court (1985), pp. 71-72.
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 41, 43-44.
S. J. Freedberg. Painting in Italy: 1500-1600 (New Haven and London, 1993), p. 595.
Hilliard Goldfarb et al. Italian Paintings and Drawings Before 1800 in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Unpublished manuscript. (Boston, 1996-2000).
Peter Humfrey et al. Giovanni Battista Moroni: Renaissance Portraitist. Exh. cat. (Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum, 2000), p. 23, fig. 8.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 92-93.
Cynthia Saltzman. Old Masters, New World: America’s Raid on Europe’s Great Pictures (New York: Penguin Books, 2008), p. 59.
Aimee Ng. Moroni: The Riches of Renaissance Portraiture. Exh. cat. (New York: The Frick Collection, 2019), pp. 203-206, fig. 103.
MarksNotesInscribed according to records and early photographs (n the pedestal of the pilaster, lower right): IO BAT MORONVS / MDLXXVI
In its current state the signature and date “MDLX ... “ are clearly visible in natural and UV light; traces of the remainder of the inscription are unclear.
In its current state the signature and date “MDLX ... “ are clearly visible in natural and UV light; traces of the remainder of the inscription are unclear.
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Gallerie Sangiorgi, Rome for 4000 lire on 30 September 1895 through American art historian, Bernard Berenson (1865–1959).
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