Cardinal Giovanni Salviati and Giovanni da Cepperello

This 1531 double portrait of Cardinal Giovanni Salviati and Giovanni da Cepperello was painted during Sebastiano del Piombo's years as the leading portraitist in Rome. Sebastiano, born in Venice around 1485 and trained under Giovanni Bellini, had moved to Rome in 1511 where he became closely allied with Michelangelo. Sebastiano del Piombo's portraits represent one of the most significant contributions to the genre in the sixteenth century, combining the Venetian colorist tradition in which he was trained (under Giorgione and Titian) with the Roman monumental figure style he absorbed through his close friendship and collaboration with Michelangelo. His portraits have a quality of monumental presence unusual in the portrait format: the sitters occupy their space with an authority derived from the sculptural weight of his figure painting. His ability to synthesize the two dominant traditions of Italian Renaissance painting — Venetian color, Roman form — made him one of the most distinctive portrait painters of his generation.

The double portrait demonstrates Sebastiano's unique synthesis of Venetian colorism and Roman monumentality, with rich, warm tones and the imposing physical presence that Michelangelo's influence lent to his figure style.