Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati
| Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati. | |
|---|---|
| File:Jan van Eyck - Kardinal Niccolò Albergati - Google Art Project.jpg | |
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| Artist | Jan van Eyck |
| Year | c. 1431 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Subject | Possibly Niccolò Albergati or Henry Beaufort |
| Dimensions | 34 cm × 27.5 cm (13 in × 10.8 in) |
| Location | Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
The Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati is a painting by the early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dating to around 1431 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
The work shows an elderly cleric who is visibly ageing with deep lines below his eyes. He is shown in near full-frontal profile, dressed in the red robe of a cardinal, lined with luxurious fur.
Description
[edit | edit source]The cardinal is portrayed from three-quarters, as was usual in Flemish painting since as early as the 1430s. The dark background enhances the figure, who is lit by a bright light source. As is common in van Eyck's work, there is very close attention to detail, aided by his use of successive layers of colours diluted with oil, which allowed him to achieve deep effects of transparency and lucidity.[1]
A preparatory drawing is now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany.[2] Comparison with the drawing shows that van Eyck changed several details, such as the depth of the shoulders, the lower curve of the nose, the depth of the mouth and mainly the size of the ear.[citation needed]
Identity of the sitter
[edit | edit source]Niccolò Albergati was a diplomat working under Pope Martin V. He met van Eyck during a peace congress in Antwerp, who portrayed him in a drawing, which the artist added notes on the colors to execute a later painting portrait. The drawing is now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany.
Although Albergati is traditionally identified as the sitter, some modern scholars suggest that Henry Beaufort is more likely to be its subject.[3][4] If the portrait is of Henry Beaufort, it would be the earliest realistic portrait of an Englishman.[4] Other scholars maintain it does not depict a cardinal at all.[5]
See also
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Borchert (2008), p. 42
- ^ "Concerning a drawing at the exhibition The Road to van Eyck". Flemish Art Collection. Retrieved 13 June 2024
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Sources
[edit | edit source]- Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck. London: Taschen, 2008. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Conway, Martin. "A Head of Christ by John van Eyck". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Volume 39, No. 225, December 1921
- Harbison, Craig. Jan van Eyck, The Play of Realism. London: Reaktion Books, 1991. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Otto Pächt. Van Eyck and the Founders of Early Netherlandish Painting. Harvey Miller, New York, 2000
- Schneider, Norbert. Jan van Eyck, the altar of Ghent: proposals for a reform of the church (in Spanish). 21st Century, 1997. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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