Getty Museum

Portrait of a Young Man

Date

second half of 15th century

Medium

Oil possibly mixed with tempera on panel

Culture

Italian

Department

Paintings

Institution

Getty Museum

A young man with a handsome profile and perfectly coiffed hair stares determinedly out of the panel. He may be a Hungarian poet, Janus Pannonius, who studied in Italy in the mid-1400s. This painting's linearity, realism, and emphasis on precise representation of detail typifies the style of artists in Ferrara, Italy, in the late 1400s. The Ferrarese court preferred profile views and delicate coloring, such as this unknown artist displayed. The delicacy and fine details suggest that the artist might have had experience in manuscript illumination. An unknown painter created this picture not long after oil painting was introduced into Italy from Northern Europe. The artist may have experimented with the new medium, possibly combining oil paint with Italy's traditional painting medium for both panels and manuscripts, tempera paint. The back of the panel is painted in imitation of porphyry, indicating that it may have been framed and hinged to a second panel, forming a diptych.

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