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Portrait of a Gentleman ('Il Gentile Cavaliere')

Giovanni Battista Moroniabout 1564-5

The National Gallery, London

The National Gallery, London
London, United Kingdom

The sitter in this painting has not been identified. The presence of the books as well as the prominent sword suggest why the good breeding of the sitter is stressed in the traditional Italian title, 'Il gentile cavaliere'. The fashionable costume, which apparently has French and Spanish characteristics, suggests the approximate date of execution.

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  • Title: Portrait of a Gentleman ('Il Gentile Cavaliere')
  • Creator: Giovanni Battista Moroni
  • Date Created: about 1564-5
  • Physical Dimensions: 100.4 x 81.2 cm
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • School: Italian (Bergamo)
  • More Info: Explore the National Gallery’s paintings online
  • Inventory number: NG2094
  • Full Title: Portrait of a Left-Handed Gentleman with Two Quartos and a Letter ('Il Gentile Cavaliere')
  • Artist Dates: 1520/4 - 1579
  • Artist Biography: Moroni is one of the most famous North Italian portrait specialists of the 16th century. He was a native of Albino, near Bergamo. In his early years he worked in Brescia and at Trent (1551-2). Later altarpieces and portraits were painted for clients in and around Bergamo and Albino, where he settled in 1561. His portraits have great psychological penetration, which owes less to his master and more to the Venetian tradition of portraiture as it had been evolved by Giorgione and Titian.
  • Acquisition Credit: Bequeathed by the Misses Cohen as part of the John Samuel collection, 1906
The National Gallery, London

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