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Sir Anthony van Dyck (artist) Flemish, 1599 - 1641 The Prefect Raffaele Raggi, c. 1625 oil on canvas overall: 131 x 105.4 cm (51 9/16 x 41 1/2 in.) Widener Collection 1942.9.90 On View |
The Prefect Raffaele Raggi is identified by a crest at the upper right. This image is Van Dyck's first portrait of a deceased sitter. In 1528 this prefect had gained the Raggi family's admission into the nobility of Genoa, and his descendants must have requested this posthumous portrait to emphasize their lineage. Van Dyck, however, did not attempt to create an actual ancestor likeness; he undoubtedly used a living model to add vivacity to the face. Moreover, the armor is that of Van Dyck's own time, not of the early sixteenth century when the subject lived.