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Tyrolean 15th Century

Portrait of a Man, c. 1490/1500

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 12

Medium

oil on panel

Dimensions

overall: 56.5 × 40 cm (22 1/4 × 15 3/4 in.)

framed: 80.01 × 63.18 × 6.35 cm (31 1/2 × 24 7/8 × 2 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1952.5.71

Artists / Makers

Tyrolean 15th Century (painter)

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

Probably the dukes of Anhalt, Gotisches Haus, Wörlitz, near Dessau.[1] (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris).[2] Clarence H. Mackay [1874-1938], Roslyn, New York, by 1929;[3] by inheritance 1938 to his wife, Mrs. Anne Case Mackay, Roslyn, New York; consigned 1951 with (Paul Drey, New York), for sale by (French & Company, New York);[4] purchased March 1951 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1952 to NGA.

[1] Unverified, but quite likely; the painting is mentioned as coming from the dukes of Anhalt collection by Lionello Venturi, "Contributi a Carlo Crivelli, a Vittore Carpaccio," L'Arte, n.s., 1 (1930): 384, and by Peter J. Wojcik, of Paul Drey Gallery, letter of 4 October 1989 to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files.

[2] Peter J. Wojcik letter of 4 October 1989 cited in note 1.

[3] Royal Cortissoz, "The Clarence H. Mackay Collection," International Studio 94 (1929): 34, repro. 32, records the painting as belonging to Mackay.

[4] Peter J. Wojcik letter of 4 October 1989 cited in note 1.

[5] See The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1692.

Associated Names

Anhalt, Dukes of
Drey Gallery, Paul
Duveen Brothers, Inc.
French & Company LLC
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.
Mackay, Anne Case, Mrs.
Mackay, Clarence H.

Exhibition History

1935: Fifteenth Century Portraits, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1935, no. 15, as by Carlo Crivelli.

2010: Van Eyck to Dürer, Groeningemuseum, Bruges, 2010-2011, no. 255, repro.

Technical Summary

The panel is probably composed of two boards with vertical grain,[1] but the possible join cannot be confirmed because a long, repaired check at the same place, 23.5 cm from the left, confuses the image seen in the x-radiograph. The panel has been thinned to a thickness of 0.5 cm and marouflaged to plywood. Calcium carbonate is the pigment in the thick white ground. Infrared reflectography discloses underdrawing consisting mainly of curvilinear strokes in a liquid medium that broadly outline forms. In the landscape, however, buildings that were not followed in the paint stage were underdrawn in a fine outline. Glazes were used in certain areas, such as the design in the sitter's robe. The panel has a slight concave warp but is in good condition. There are small, scattered inpainted losses throughout, for example, along the check and in the dark areas of the robe, and retouched abrasion in the right halves of the top and bottom edges of the collar.

[1] The wood was identified as linden by Michael Palmer, National Gallery's scientific research department.

Bibliography

1923: Marle, Raimond van. The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. 19 vols. The Hague, 1923-1938: 18(1936):18, 20-22, fig. 12.

1929: Cortissoz, Royal. "The Clarence H. Mackay Collection." International Studio 94 (1929): 34, repro. 32

1930: Venturi, Lionello. "Contributi a Carlo Crivelli, a Vittore Carpaccio." L'Arte N.S. 1 (1930): 384, 393, repro. 385.

1931: Fiocco, Giuseppe. "Ein neuer Crivelli." Pantheon 7 (1931): 250.

1931: Venturi, Lionello. Pitture italiane in America. Milan, 1931: pl. 278.

1932: Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works with an Index of Places. Oxford, 1932: 161.

1932: Fiocco, Giuseppe. "Porträts aus der Emilia." Pantheon 10 (1932): 340, repro. 341.

1933: Venturi, Lionello. Italian Paintings in America. 3 vols. New York and Milan, 1933: 2: pl. 372.

1936: Berenson, Bernard. I Pittori italiani del Rinascimento. Milan, 1936: pl. 6.

1959: Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 112, repro., as by North Italian Master.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 97, as North Italian School.

1967: Anzelewsky, Fedja. "Ein Unbekanntes deutsches Fürstenporträt des 15. Jahrhunderts." Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen 9 (1967): 156-164, repro.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 85, repro., as North Italian School.

1968: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XV-XVI Century. London, 1968: 38-39, fig. 91.

1969: Zeri, Federico. "Review of Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Italian Schools XV-XVI Century by Fern Rusk Shapley." The Burlington Magazine 111 (1969): 455.

1970: Ringler, Josef. "Ein Tiroler Fürstenbildnis der Spätgotik in Washington." Der Schlern 44 (1970): 77-78, repro. facing 76.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 254, repro., as North Italian School.

1975: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 116, no. 99, repro.

1979: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:437-438; 2:pl. 317, as Swiss Master.

1983: Bonsanti, Giorgio. "Maria di Borgogna in un Ritratto di Michael Pacher." Paragone 34, no. 397 (1983): 18-19, pl. 9.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 116, no. 93, color repro., as by North Italian School.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 293, repro., as North Italian 15th Century.

1993: Hand, John Oliver, with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield. German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 181-186, color repro. 182.

1995: Löcher, Kurt. Review of German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries, by John Oliver Hand with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield. Kunstchronik 43 no. 1 (January 1995): 20.

2011: Borchert, Till-Holdger. "Portrait of a Man." In Van Eyck to Dürer: The Influence of Early Netherlandish Painting on European Art, 1430-1530. Edited by Till-Holger Borchert. Exh. cat. Bruges 2010. London, 2011: 459, no. 255, 531, color fig.

2017: Serres, Karen. "Duveen's Italian framemaker, Ferruccio Vannoni." The Burlington Magazine 159, no. 1370 (May 2017): 372-373 n. 38.