Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena

Raphael's Portrait of Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena (c. 1516) at the Pitti Palace depicts the humanist, diplomat, and playwright who was among Pope Leo X's closest advisors. Bibbiena was also the author of La Calandria, one of the most successful Renaissance comedies, and his portrait captures a man of intelligence, wit, and worldly sophistication. Raphael's ability to convey the inner character of ecclesiastical sitters — the complex mixture of spiritual role and individual personality — reaches a high point in this work, where the cardinal's intelligence and diplomatic experience are fully legible in the face's animation and the body's poised authority.

The warm crimson of the cardinal's robes dominates the composition, with Raphael's smooth handling of the face and penetrating gaze creating a vivid sense of the sitter's urbane intelligence.