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Raffaello SANTI, known as RAPHAEL (Urbino, 1483 – Rome, 1520)
Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529)
1514-15
© Musée du Louvre/A. Dequier - M. Bard |
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Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529) |
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Author of the hugely successful Book of the Courtier, the diplomat Baldassare Castiglione was also Raphael's friend. The amicable relationship binding the painter to his model is conveyed in the intensity of the gaze that lights up the latter's face, shown frontally, while the bust is painted in a three-quarter view. In the foreground, the clasped hands are somewhat reminiscent of the Mona Lisa's, as is the general posture of the figure. The rapport between the painter and his model is like that between two people engaged in an informal conversation.
The various shades of gray used for the black velvet doublet, warmly enhanced by the gray squirrel fur sleeves, the hat comprising a hairnet and a beret which encircles the face, the white patch of shirt, and the background against which the figure is set serve to embolden the flesh colors and highlight Baldassare's blue eyes. The very thin canvas on which this portrait is executed contributes to the magnificence of the sitter, because it helps the paint catch the light. Raphael seems to have used this new texture as a modulator. In the late quattrocento, wooden supports began to be replaced by canvas, which was to become increasingly widespread.
Baldassare Castiglione was one of the great Renaissance humanists and, in his search for elegance, generosity and sobriety, Raphael was the perfect reflection of the ideals expressed in the book written by his friend.
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Remain in the Tribune, but turn around.
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