Portrait of Tommaso Grossi

This masterpiece is one of the best-known portraits of the Milanese poet and writer Tommaso Grossi. The author, Giovanni Carnovali known as “il Piccio”, sets the image in such a way as to make the viewer perceive Grossi's romantic soul: the poet is depicted with a book in his hands and his gaze absorbed; behind him an airy, riverine background probably refers to the Po river, which is supposed to have been place of Grossi’s wanderings.