Portrait of a Young Man

Marco Basaiti, who was a Venetian painter of Greek origin who developed a distinctive blend of Vivarini precision and Belliniesque atmospheric color, created this work around 1495, now in London's National Gallery. Portrait painting emerged as a major genre during the fifteenth century, reflecting the growing emphasis on individual identity and the secular confidence of the merchant and aristocratic classes. This work belongs to the High Renaissance, when the innovations of the preceding century were synthesized into works of monumental clarity and ideal beauty.

The sitter is rendered with individualized features and careful attention to dress and accessories, employing the luminous flesh tones and controlled lighting that characterize accomplished fifteenth-century portrait painting.