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Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Shops
    • Tours, Guides, and Maps

    Open today 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    Only have an hour to spend?

    We've got you covered.

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    Featured exhibition:

    The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art

    Now on view

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Games and Interactives
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Artle

    A refreshed experience for our puzzle game

    Today's puzzle

Utility

  • Shop
  • Support

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    3. Francesco Maria Balbi
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    Francesco Maria Balbi

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    Shown from the knees up, a pale-skinned man wearing armor stands with his body facing our left in profile but he turns his head to look up and over our right shoulder in front of a distant, gray landscape in this vertical portrait painting. He looks into the distance with brown eyes under dark, arched eyebrows. Chestnut-brown hair flows around his ears and to the back of his neck. His straight nose is slightly hooked at the end, and his pink lips are closed under a wispy mustache. He has plump, lightly flushed cheeks, and sagging jowls lead to a double chin. Light from our left glints off the suit of armor that covers his arms and round belly. He stands with his left hand, closer to us, resting on the hilt of a sword hanging at his side so his elbow points toward us. His other hand rests on the top of a cane. A leather strap crosses his chest, and a thin layer of lace encircles his neck. A ruby-red sash is tied around his upper left arm in a bow and billows around and behind him. The landscape beyond has a dark blue sky with charcoal-gray clouds above a low, sunlit horizon. The painting is inscribed with dark capital letters in the upper right corner: “MDV RAPHAEL RACIVS. H REIP. TRIREMIVM PRAEFE.”
    Sir Anthony van Dyck, The Prefect Raffaele Raggi, c. 1625, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.90

    The Prefect Raffaele Raggi

    The Prefect Raffaele Raggi

    Sir Anthony van Dyck · c. 1625 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.90

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