RAFFAELLO Sanzio
(b. 1483, Urbino, d. 1520, Roma)

Portrait of a Man

c. 1502
Oil on wood, 45 x 31 cm
Galleria Borghese, Rome

Perugino was to have a great influence on Raphael and so were northern masters. In fact in the 19th century Raphael's Portrait of a Man which can be dated to the period of his youth (c. 1502), was thought to be by Holbein and then by Perugino, until Giovanni Morelli met with general consensus by attributing it to Raphael. This portrait, probably of a duke given the shape of the hat, is idealized in the perfect modelling of the volumes, flowing hair and vivid expression. The approach is very different from the realistic style of the northern painters, who sought to include all the true-to-life details including defects.




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