Portrait of a Young Man (L'allegrezza)

The young man with soft, glistening eyes is wearing a black, broad-brimmed hat, decorated with feathers, a white shirt, and a red jacket with blue belt.
The light reflects on the brooch on his hat, on the pearl earring, on the heavy gold chain which the boy is lifting, and on the glass of the wine bottle, through which the painter, with great skill, shows the white of the shirt sleeve.
The portrait is known as “l’Allegrezza” (“Gaiety”), a word used about it by the abbé Giovan Battista Angeli in a poem written since 1720. Therefore the painting must have been completed before that date.
The artist’s first name was Giuseppe, but when, at an early age, he became a friar he took the name Vittore. He then moved to the monastery of Galgario near Bergamo, whence the nickname by which he is known.