A Man in Profile

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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The man in this portrait was once thought to be Gerolamo Casio, a poet from Bologna. He and Boltraffio knew one another and Casio even mentioned Boltraffio’s skill at painting in his sonnets.

This attractive idea is now doubted, but there’s no question that the work is by Boltraffio. One of Leonardo’s apprentices in Milan, Boltraffio adopted his master’s style more faithfully than any of his other students. His use of shadow to model the man’s jowls and the flesh of his nose resembles the style Leonardo developed in Milan. The profile view was outdated in most of Italy when this was painted – Leonardo himself favoured a broader view of his sitters' faces – but the Milanese courts were a little more conservative, so it persisted there for longer.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Man in Profile

Date

possibly 1498-1516

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 56.5 x W 42.5 cm

Accession number

NG3916

Acquisition method

Mond Bequest, 1924

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

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