Artist:
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attributed to Lorenzo Costa
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Title:
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Portrait of a Cardinal in his Study
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Date:
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c. 1510-1520
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Medium:
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Oil and tempera on poplar panel
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Dimensions:
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32 1/4 x 30 in. (81.92 x 76.2 cm) (panel)
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Credit Line:
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The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the William Hood Dunwoody Fund
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Location:
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Gallery 341
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The unknown sitter in this portrait, wearing the crimson cassock and cap of a cardinal, is depicted as a humanist scholar. Through the open window can be seen the figure of Saint Jerome, the 4th-century biblical scholar, often portrayed in medieval art as a kneeling hermit. He is identified by a broad-brimmed cardinal's hat and the lion that was his legendary companion. During the Renaissance, however, Saint Jerome was frequently shown as a cultured man of learning in his studyâa representation this sitter clearly wished his portrait to suggest.
The identities of both artist and sitter have long been debated. The most persuasive evidence indicates that Lorenzo Costa painted a high-ranking prelate, possibly Cardinal Bibbiena, while court painter in Mantua, a sophisticated center of humanist culture.
Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Costa, Lorenzo
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Nationality:
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Italian (Emilia)
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Life Dates:
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Italian (Emilia), 1460 - 1535
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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Classification:
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Paintings
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Physical Description:
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70.17ter the old frame for this piece is on P65B MS; Italian wood tabernacle cassetta frame, ca. 1600 (reframed 1992), H.46-1/4 x W.44 in.
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Creation Place:
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Europe, Italy, , , Emilia
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Accession #:
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70.17
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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