Portrait of a Young Man

c. 1615

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Associated Names
Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Artist, Roman, 1598 - 1680

The artwork is a portrait showing the upper half of a person's body. The individual is positioned facing forward with a slight tilt to the right side. The facial features are detailed, with prominent eyes, a well-defined nose, and slightly parted lips. The hair is medium length, dark, and appears straight, framing the face naturally. The person is clothed in a garment with a textured collar, drawn in sketchy strokes. The background of the image is a textured, neutral tone. No jewelry or objects are present in the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black and red chalk heightened with white chalk

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 31.7 x 23.1 cm (12 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1971.66.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Wildenstein and Co., New York); Mr. [d. 1970] and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet, Great Neck, Long Island, NY; purchased 19 October 1971 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1958

  • A Comprehensive Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolors, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1958, no. 14 (checklist).

1967

  • Drawings from New York Collections, II. The Seventeenth Century in Italy, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, 1967, no. 67 (Felice Stampfle and Jacob Bean)

1968

  • Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet, circulated by the American Federation of Arts, New York, 1968, no. 4 (reproduced on the cover).

1974

  • NGA Recent Acquisitions 1974, no. 33.

1976

  • Old Master Drawings from American Collections, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1976, no. 118 (Ebria Feinblatt).

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 70.

1983

  • Italian Portrait Drawings, 1400-1800, from North American Collections. Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN, and elsewhere, 1983-1984, 25 (Adelheid Gealt).

Bibliography

1958

  • "Reviews and Previews," Art News 57 (Summer 1958): 17.

1967

  • Fagiolo dell'Arco, Maurizio and Marcello. Bernini: una introduzione al gran teatro del barocco. Rome, 1967: 248c.

1968

  • Bennett, Mary Lee. Drawings from the Collection of David Daniels. Exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 1968: under no. 7.

1969

  • Zeri, Federico. "Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Un marmo dimenticato e un disegno." Paragone 9, no. 115 (1969): 63-64, pl. 42.

1971

  • Dessins français et italiens du XVIe et du XVIIe siècle dans les collections privées françaises. Exh. cat. Galerie Claude Aubry, Paris, 1971: under no. 13.

  • Harris, Ann Sutherland, ed. Selected Drawings of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. New York, 1971: vii, xiv, no. 9.

1981

  • Martinelli, Valentino. Bernini disegni. Florence, 1981: VII.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 671, no. 1070, color repro.

2015

  • Harris, Ann Sutherland. "A New Child's Portrait Drawing by Bernini: A Great-nephew of the Pope?" Master Drawings 53(2) (2015): 211-212.

Inscriptions

in unknown hand, lower right: da Cav. Bernini

Wikidata ID

Q64572219

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