Portrait of a Young Man

c. 1650

Shown from the chest up, a pale-skinned young man with dark hair and a brown mustache and goatee looks at us from the corners of his dark eyes in this vertical portrait painting. His body and face are angled to our left, and his left eyebrow, closer to us, is slightly cocked while other is low over his other eye. He has a straight nose, a square jaw, and his pink lips are closed. His short, brown hair lays flat against his head but curls around the ear we can see. He wears a pecan-brown vest over a black, long-sleeved shirt with a white, lace-edged collar at the neck. His garments blend into the peanut-brown background so the light falling from the upper left highlights his features and white collar.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 59.5 x 47.8 cm (23 7/16 x 18 13/16 in.)
    framed: 87.15 x 75.25 cm (34 5/16 x 29 5/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.82

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Don Gaspar Méndez de Haro y Guzmán, 7th Marquis del Carpio e Heliche and 5th Conde Duque de Olivares [d. 1687], Madrid, 1651.[1] Count Ferdinand Bonaventura Harrach [1636-1706], Vienna, by 1697;[2] by inheritance to his son, Count Alois Thomas Raymund Harrach [1669-1742], Viceroy of Naples from 1728 until 1731; remained in the Galerie Harrach, Vienna, until 1930, when Count Otto Harrach[3] sold it to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 15 December 1936 by The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[4] gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] José M. Pita Andrade, "Los cuadros de Velázquez y Mazo que poseyó el séptimo Marques del Carpio," Archivo Español de Arte 25 (1952): 227, identifies the painting as a work listed in the 1651 inventory of Haro y Guzmán.
[2] Several conflicting dates have been published regarding Count Harrach's acquisition of this painting. Walter W. S. Cook, "Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Art," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, XXVIII (1945): 79, said that the portrait was "acquired in 1677 in Madrid," while José López-Rey, Velázquez. A Catalogue Raisonné of His Oeuvre, (London, 1963): 316, stated that it was purchased in 1687. José Gudiol, Velázquez (1974): 150, suggested that Count Harrach bought the painting in 1687. In his 1926 catalogue for the Harrach collection (Katalog der Erlaucht Gräflich Harrach'schen Gemäldegalerie in Wien), Hermann Ritschl noted that Count Harrach mentioned the painting in a 1690 document as "ein Contrefait, Bruckstück von einem Mann im grauen Wamms mit dunklen Ermeln, kleinen Überschlag mit Spitzen, von Velasca."
[3] See entry from the David Finley notebook, as well as the 30 May 1988 letter from Dr. Robert Keyszelitz of the Gallerie Harrach (both in NGA curatorial files). Although the Finley entry identifies the owner as "Harrach (Count Johann von H.)," Keyszelitz states in his letter that when the painting was sold to Duveen's in 1930, Count Otto Harrach was the head of the family. Upon his death in 1935, his son Count Johann inherited this position.
[4] The original Duveen Brothers invoice is in Gallery Archives, copy in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1889

  • Pazaurek, Gustav E. Carl Skreta (1610-1674). Ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte des XVII. Jahrhunderts. Prague, 1889: 91, no. 162.

1902

  • Bredius, Abraham. "Ein vergessener Velázquez." Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 13 (1902): 110, repro. 111.

1905

  • Gensel, Walther. Velázquez. Des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst. Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1905: 127, repro.

1907

  • Thieme, Ulrich, and Felix Becker, eds. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 24(1930):301, s.v. "Mazo".

1914

  • Gensel, Walter, and Valerian von Loga. Velázquez. Klassiker der Kunst. Stuttgart and Berlin, 1914: 239, repro.

1925

  • Gensel, Walter, and Juan Allende-Salazar. Velázquez. Des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst. Berlin and Leipzig, 1925: 265, repro. 288.

1926

  • Ritschl, Hermann. Katalog der erlaucht Gräflich Harrachschen Gemälde-Galerie in Wien. Vienna, 1926: 129-130, no. 333.

1936

  • Mayer, August L. Velázquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Pictures and Drawings. London, 1936: 389, pl. 131.

1941

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 208, no. 82, as by Diego Velázquez de Silva.

  • Duveen Brothers. Duveen Pictures in Public Collections of America. New York, 1941: no. 228, repro., as by Diego Velázquez.

1942

  • Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 216, as by Diego de Silva y Velázquez.

1943

  • Lafuente Ferrari, Enrique. Paintings and Drawings of Velázquez. Complete Edition. London and New York, 1943: appendix O, pl. 68.

1945

  • Cook 1945, 79-80, fig. 8.

  • Soria, Martin S. Review of The Paintings and Drawings of Velázquez by Enrique Lafuente Ferrari. In The Art Bulletin 27 (September, 1945): 214.

1949

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 45, repro., as by Velázquez.

1952

  • Pita Andrade, José M. "Los cuadros de Velázquez y Mazo que poseyó el séptimo Marqués del Carpio." Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueologia 25 (1952): 227.

1955

  • Pantorba, Bernardino de [José López Jiménez]. La vida y la obra de Velázquez; estudio biográfico y crítico. Madrid, 1955: 226, no. 157.

1959

  • Kubler, George, and Martin Soria. Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and Their American Dominions, 1500-1800. Baltimore, 1959: 338, n. 10.

1960

  • Temboury Alvarez, Juan. "Alonso Cano y Velázquez." In Varia Velázqueña. 2 vols. Madrid, 1960: 1:433-434, pl. 626.

1963

  • López-Rey, José. Velázquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of His Oeuvre. London, 1963: 316, pl. 386.

1964

  • Camón Aznar, José. Velázquez. 2 vols. Madrid, 1964: 1:435-437, repro. 436.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 134, as by Velázquez.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 121, repro., as by Velázquez.

1969

  • Asturias, M.A., and P.M. Bardi. L'opera completa di Velázquez. Milan, 1969: 111, no. 145, repro.

1974

  • Gudiol y Ricart, José. Velázquez: 1599-1660. Translated by Kenneth Lyons. London, 1974: 150, 332, no. 89.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 360, repro., as Circle of Velazquez.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 247, no. 315, color repro., as by Circle of Velázquez.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 419, repro.

1990

  • Brown, Jonathan, and Richard G. Mann. Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1990: 120-122, repro. 121.

Wikidata ID

Q20177342

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