Portrait of a Sick Man

Titian's Portrait of a Sick Man, painted around 1515 and now in the Uffizi, Florence, is a psychologically penetrating early portrait showing a man in apparent ill health. The frank depiction of physical vulnerability was unusual in Renaissance portraiture, which typically emphasized dignity and authority. Titian's empathetic rendering of the sitter's weakened state demonstrates the psychological depth that would make him the greatest portraitist of the Renaissance.

Titian renders the sitter with warm, compassionate color and soft modeling, using the pale flesh tones and melancholy expression to convey the subject's illness with characteristic psychological sensitivity.

Located in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, this portrait is in generally good condition. The identity of the sitter remains debated among scholars. The painting has been cleaned, revealing the subtle modulations of flesh tone that convey the subject's ill health. Some darkening of the background has occurred over time. The work's small scale has helped protect it from the structural issues that affect larger canvases.