Portrait of Lorenzo di Credi
1488
Painter, Umbrian, c. 1450 - 1523
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 6
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on panel transferred to canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
original panel: 44 x 30.5 cm (17 5/16 x 12 in.)
overall (with added border): 46 x 32.5 cm (18 1/8 x 12 13/16 in.)
framed: 63.8 x 50.8 x 5.7 cm (25 1/8 x 20 x 2 1/4 in.) -
Accession
1942.9.38
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Probably private collections, Florence, until at least the mid-eighteenth century. Possibly anonymous collection, Rome, before 1895.[1] William Beattie, Glasgow, Scotland, by 1901.[2] (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London); sold 16 January 1911 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[3] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] A red wax customs seal still on the back of the panel reads "DIREZ DELLA R. DOGANA DI FIRENZE"; the "R." which stands for "Reale" ("Royal"), suggests that the painting was cleared for export under the Hapsburg-Lorraine regents. The possibility of a Roman provenance is mentioned in Widener curator Edith Standen's notes (in NGA curatorial files).
Though it was preserved and attached to the stretcher of the present canvas, the inscribed section of the panel unfortunately disappeared sometime after it was re-examined in connection with the Gallery's summary catalogue of 1965. To judge from a photograph made at that time, the inscription, partly in Roman capitals and partly in cursive script, does not appear to have been contemporary with the painting; it probably dated from the sixteenth century. Written over the inscription was the inventory number 6A.
[2] He lent the painting to a 1901 exhibition in London.
[3] According to Widener collection cards, in NGA curatorial files.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1901
Early Italian Portraits, Lawrie & Co., London, 1901.
1933
A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Art Institute of Chicago, 1933, no. 114, as Self-Portrait by Lorenzo di Credi.
2011
Perugino - Raffaels Meister, Bayerisches Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 2011-2012, no. 25, repro.
2023
Il meglio maestro d’Italia: Perugino e il suo tempo, Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, Perugia, 2023, no. IV.1, repro.
Bibliography
1901
Armstrong, Walter. “Early Italian Portraits.” Art Journal 64 (1901): 47-48, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Loeser, Charles. “L’autoritratto di Lorenzo di Credi. Atto di nascita dell’artista.” L’Arte 4 (1901): 135-137, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1905
Reinach, Salomon. Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la Renaissance (1280-1580). 6 vols. Paris, 1905-1923: 4(1918):622, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1907
Gronau, Georg. "Lorenzo di Credi." In Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, eds. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 8(1913):73-74, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1909
Berenson, Bernard. The Florentine Painters of the Renaissance. 3rd ed. London, 1909: 132, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1916
Berenson, Bernard, and William Roberts. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: Early Italian and Spanish Schools. Philadelphia, 1916: unpaginated, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Portrait of Himself in His Thirty-Third Year.
1923
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Portrait of Himself in His Thirty-Third Year.
Marle, Raimond van. The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. 19 vols. The Hague, 1923-1938: 13(1931):269, 282-287, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1924
Alazard, Jean. Le Portrait florentin de Botticelli à Bronzino. Paris, 1924: 84-85, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1931
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 146, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Portrait of Himself in His Thirty-Third Year.
Venturi, Lionello. Pitture italiane in America. Milan, 1931: pl. 213, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Degenhart, Bernhard. “Studien über Lorenzo di Credi I: Credis Porträtsdarstellung.” Pantheon 4, no. 9 (1931): 364, fig. 6, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1932
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Oxford, 1932: 297, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1933
Venturi, Lionello. Italian Paintings in America. 3 vols. New York and Milan, 1933: 2:pl.281, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Art in the Century of Progress." The Fine Arts 20, no. 2 (June 1933): 11, 60, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1935
Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 27, 327, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 57, 311, repro.).
Popham, Arthur Ewart. “Lorenzo di Credi. Head of a Youth.” In The Vasari Society 2nd ser., part 16, no. 2 (1935): 5, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1936
Berenson, Bernard. Pitture italiane del rinascimento. Milan, 1936: 255, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1937
Goldscheider, Ludwig, ed. Five hundred self-portraits from antique times to the present day, in sculpture, painting, drawing and engraving. Vienna, 1937: 22, fig. 38, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1938
Waldmann, Emil. "Die Sammlung Widener." Pantheon 22 (November 1938): 340, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Alazard, Jean. Le Portrait florentin de Botticelli à Bronzino. 2nd ed. Paris, 1938: 84-85, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1939
Nicodemi, Giorgio. “Il volto di Leonardo.” In Sandro Piantanida and Costantino Baroni, eds. Leonardo da Vinci. Novara, 1939: 16, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 5, as by Lorenzo di Credi, _Self-Portrait.
Douglas, Robert Langton. “Leonardo and His Critics-I.” The Burlington Magazine 81, no. 475 (October 1942): 241, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1948
Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 7, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Alazard, Jean. The Florentine Portrait from Botticelli to Bronzino. English ed. trans. Barbara Whelpton. London and Brussels, 1948: 82-83, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1951
Einstein, Lewis. Looking at Italian Pictures in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1951: 44 n. 1, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1956
Laclotte, Michel. De Giotto à Bellini: les primitifs italiens dans les musées de France. Exh. cat. Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1956: 64, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1957
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 77, as by Lorenzo di Credi, _Self-Portrait.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 300, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Florentine School. 2 vols. London, 1963: 1:117, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 77, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1966
Covi, Dario. “Four new documents concerning Andrea del Verrocchio.” The Art Bulletin 48, n. 1 (March 1966): 99, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Dalli Regoli, Gigetta. Lorenzo di Credi. Milan, 1966: 36, 40-41, 132-133, fig. 106, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Prinz, Wolfram. “Vasaris Sammlung von Künstlerbildnissen.” Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorichen Institutes von Florenz 12, supp. (1966): 119-120, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 68, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1970
Brewer, Robert. A Study of Lorenzo di Credi. Florence, 1970: 81, 124, 129-130, pl. 37, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1974
Berenson, Bernard. Looking at Pictures with Bernard Berenson. Ed. Hanna Kiel. New York, 1974: 204, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 200, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1977
Ragghianti, Carlo L. “Lorenzo di Credi non Pinturicchio”. Critica d’Arte 42, nos. 154-156 (July – December 1977): 92, 94, 97, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Dalli Regoli, Gigetta. “Raffaello e Lorenzo di Credi. Postilla.” Critica d’Arte 42, nos. 154-156 (July-December 1977): 87, fig. 7, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1978
Sleptzoff, L. M. Men or Supermen? The Italian Portrait in the Fifteenth Century. Jerusalem, 1978: 139, fig. 49, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1979
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:272-273; 2:pl. 187, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 104, no. 74, color repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
Dessins florentins et romains de la collection Frits Lugt. Exh. cat. Institut Néerlandais, Paris 1984: 9.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 233, repro., as by Lorenzo di Credi, _Self-Portrait.
Boehm, Gottfried. Bildnis und Individuum. Über den Ursprung der Porträtmalerei in der italienischen Renaissance. Munich, 1985: 239, 287, fig. 164, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1987
Dalli Regoli, Gigetta. “‘Non…da natura, ma per lungo studio’: Riferimenti, citazioni e rielaborazioni nelle Madonne di Raffaello.” In Micaela Sambucco Hamoud and Maria Letizia Strocchi, eds. Studi su Raffaello. Atti del congresso internazionale. Urbino, 1987: 421 n. 13, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1989
Todini, Filippo. La pittura umbra dal Duecento al primo Cinquecento. 2 vols. Milan, 1989: 1:273. 2:pl.1154.
1993
Gagliardi, Jacques. La conquête de la peinture: L’Europe des ateliers du XIIIe au XVe siècle. Paris, 1993: 802-803, fig. 1009, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1996
Dalli Regoli, Gigetta. "Lorenzo di Credi." In Jane Turner, ed. The Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. New York and London, 1996: 19:676, as by Lorenzo di Credi, Self-Portrait.
1997
Garibaldi, Vittoria. Perugino. Florence, 1997: 24.
2001
Brown, David Alan,ed. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo’s Ginevra de’ Benci and Renaissance Portraits of Women. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001: 198, fig. 1.
2002
Quodbach, Esmée. "The Last of the American Versailles: The Widener Collection at Lynnewood Hall." Simiolus 29, no. 1/2 (2002): 95.
2003
Boskovits, Miklós, and David Alan Brown, et al. Italian Paintings of the Fifteenth Century. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 2003: 557-561, color repro.
2005
Todini, Filippo. “Il Perugino, le sue botteghe e i suoi seguaci: ‘Volendo fare di sua mano, lui è il meglio maestro d’Italia’.” In Rosanna Caterina Proto Pisani, ed. Perugino a Firenze: Qualità e fortuna d’uno stile. Exh. cat. Cenacolo di Fuligno, Florence, 2005: 58, fig. 7.
2011
Christiansen, Keith, and Stefan Wepplemann, eds. The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2011: 140.
Inscriptions
by later hand, on reverse, preserved from original panel, now lost: LORENZO DI Credi Pittore eccmo MCCCCLXXXVIII AETATIS SVE XXXII ME VIII (Lorenzo di Credi, most excellent painter, 1488, age 32 years, 8 months)
Wikidata ID
Q931933