Provenance

Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne

Lansdowne Henry, 4th Marquess of

British, 1816 - 1866

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A bearded, pale-skinned man with shoulder-length, dark brown hair is shown from the hips up against a dark, emerald-green curtain in this vertical portrait painting. The man’s body is angled slightly to our left, while his head turns to look directly at us with dark, shadowed eyes. His chin-length hair is parted down the middle and tucked behind his ears. He wears a dark robe over a white shirt with a high collar. In his left hand, to our right, he holds a folded piece of yellowish paper or cloth, and his other hand rests just below it with fingers pointing downward. He is lit from our right so the far side of his face is thrown into shadow. At his shoulder and to our left, a shelf or table covered with green holds a globe, an open book with pages filled with text, a stack of closed books, and a quill resting in an inkwell. Some of the text in the open book is visible but not clearly legible. Most of the background is filled with the jewel-toned green curtain, but a sliver to the left, behind the objects, is black.
Sebastiano del Piombo, Portrait of a Humanist, c. 1520, oil on panel transferred to hardboard, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.38

Portrait of a Humanist

Sebastiano del Piombo · c. 1520 · oil on panel transferred to hardboard ·  Accession ID  1961.9.38

Shown from about the waist up behind a forest-green desktop, a man with smooth, pale pink skin writes in an open book with a quill pen as he looks at us, surrounded closely by papers, pens and ink, and other objects in this vertical portrait painting. His body is angled a little to our left but he tips his head slightly back and looks at us from the corners of his dark brown eyes under arched brows. He has a short, round nose, high cheekbones, and his pale pink lips are slightly pursed. His short, chestnut-brown hair curls over his ears, and bangs sweep across his forehead. His black beret is adorned over his right eyebrow, on our left, with a metallic badge with an intertwined "I A S." He wears a crimson-red jacket with puffy red sleeves decorated with black bands. Black lapels open onto a dark garment that has a pewter-gray panel over the upper chest and gray sleeves. The white garment beneath peeks out along the neckline and cuffs at his wrists. His left hand, on our right, rests with fingers extended on a page with writing in the open book, and he wears a gold ring incised with “IS” on his forefinger and a gold band with a ruby-red gem on his pinkie. He writes the beginning of a word with his other hand. In front of him, on the ledge, is a talc shaker pierced with tiny holes in the top, a magnifying glass, a black inkpot, and a small pair of scissors. Near one elbow, to our right, is a pile of coins, a pair of scales with weights, a small leather-bound book, and a receptacle for rolled-up paper and quills. A thick sheaf of curling, crinkled papers hangs to either side of his head. The stack to the left is marked “Alrehande Misseven” and the stack to our right is labeled “Alrehande Minuten.” A black dagger, a tassel, and a set of at least four orbs about the size of ping pong balls hangs between the sheafs, against the dark background.
Jan Gossaert, Portrait of a Man, possibly Jan Snoeck, c. 1530, oil on panel, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1967.4.1

Portrait of a Man, possibly Jan Snoeck

Jan Gossaert · c. 1530 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1967.4.1

Shown from the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin looks out at us from the corners of her wide-set hazel eyes in this vertical painting. Against a nearly black background, her body is angled to our left and wavy, auburn hair cascades down her back. Her hair is arranged into a bow shape over a thin, pale pink ribbon, and delicate tendrils frame her face and fall over her shoulders. She has thin brows, and her long, straight nose is wide at the bridge. Her pale, coral-pink lips are closed in a slight smile. She is lit from our left so shadows engulf the corners of her eyes and lips, and her far cheek, to our right, is shaded. Her moss-green gown has a golden-brown panel across the chest and voluminous, puffy sleeves. The green sleeves fall back over the deep folds of the white garment she wears underneath, and the dress is tied with a pink sash just below her bust. She holds the flaring foot of an oyster-white lidded vessel, like a miniature urn, with one hand and tips the conical lid up with the other.
Bernardino Luini, The Magdalen, c. 1525, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.56

The Magdalen

Bernardino Luini · c. 1525 · oil on panel ·  Accession ID  1961.9.56