Portrait of a Gentleman
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio·c. 1505
Historical Context
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio's Portrait of a Gentleman (c. 1505) represents the continuation of the Florentine portrait tradition into the early Cinquecento. Son of the celebrated Domenico Ghirlandaio — who had trained Michelangelo and produced the great narrative fresco cycles of the 1480s — Ridolfo inherited his father's studio and maintained a respected practice through the tumultuous decades of Savonarola, the French invasions, and the eventual Medici restoration. Raphael counted Ridolfo among his close Florentine friends during his years in the city before moving to Rome, and the influence of Raphael's portraiture is visible in the relaxed three-quarter pose and the direct but measured engagement of the sitter's gaze.
Technical Analysis
The work shows Ridolfo's characteristic blend of his father's linear clarity with the softer modeling learned from Fra Bartolomeo and Raphael. The oil and tempera on panel, later transferred to canvas, preserves warm flesh tones and precise costume rendering.
Provenance
Possibly Prince Brancaccio, Rome [according to a letter from Wilhelm von Bode to Scott and Fowles dated January 2, 1912; however the bill of sale from Scott and Fowles to Martin A. Ryerson dated April 13, 1912 states that the picture was “bought from the collection of Prince Piombino, Rome, about twenty years since,” copies in curatorial file]. William Beattie, Glasgow, by 1901 [see Armstrong 1901, p. 46]. Arthur T. Sulley, London, by 1910 [see letter from Bernard Berenson to Arthur T. Sulley dated October 23, 1910, in the Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago]. Scott and Fowles, New York, by 1912; sold by Scott and Fowles to Martin A. Ryerson (died 1932), Chicago, 1912; on loan to the Art Institute from 1912; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1933.
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