PASSEROTTI, Bartolomeo
(b. 1529, Bologna, d. 1592, Bologna)

Portrait of Lope Varona di Villanahue of Burgos

1579-80
Oil on canvas, 119 x 96 cm
Private collection

The sitter of this portrait is Don Lope Varona di Villanahue of Burgos, a Spanish nobleman, who was appointed Rector at the University of Bologna in 1579. The portrait, showing the sitter half length with a book in his right hand, was probably commissioned for this occasion.