Renaissance Portraits:
Italy & Beyond
Title: Portrait of Giovanni della Volta with his Wife and Children, completed 1547
Artist: Lorenzo Lotto (Italian c. 1480-1556)
Permanent Collection and ©: The National Gallery, London.
Bequeathed by Miss Sarah Solly, 1879 (NG 1047)
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
London's National Gallery is the home of an exciting exhibition exploring portraiture in the
Renaissance. The big guns are coming out : Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Van Eyck, Holbein, Dürer,
Lotto, Pontormo and Bellini. Interestingly it does not focus only on the Italians but
on the greatest Renaissance artists of Northern and Southern Europe.
Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian
National Gallery, London
October 15 2008 - January 19, 2009
Palma il Vecchio
Title: Portrait of a Woman, ‘La Bella’, 1518-1520
Artist: Palma il Vecchio (Italian about 1480–1528)
Permanent Collection: © Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (310)
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
Born Jacopo Palma, he was called Palma il Vecchio (the Elder) to distinguish him from his nephew, also
an artist, who shared his name. Palma was a rival of Lorenzo Lotto. It is believed that he studied
with Titian. He was born in Bergamo, near Milan but moved to Venice and is considered to be of
the Venetian school of the Italian High Renaissance.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Title: The Emperor Rudolph II as Vertumnus, about 1590
Artist: Giuseppe Arcimboldo (Italian 1527?–1593)
Permanent Collection: © Skoklosters Castle (11615)
Photographer: Samuel Uhrdin
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
Surreal portraits are associated with Giuseppe Arcimboldo; whose work had a strong influence on the surrealists
such as Dali and Magritte. He was known for his portraits using flora, fauna, books and other objects
arranged in such a way as to actually depict the head of his subject.
Jan van Eyck
Title: Margaret, the Artist’s Wife, 1439
Artist: Jan van Eyck (Flemish active 1422; died 1441)
Permanent Collection: Groeningemuseum, Bruges (0000.GRO0162.I)
© Lukas - Art in Flanders VZW
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
The Early Netherlandish school's best known painter was Jan van Eyck. Known for his religious themed works
he was an accomplished portraitist. One of his most famous portraits is the
Arnolfini Portrait, which
is in the collection of the National Gallery.
He was among the first artist to paint in oils and that led to the wrong impression that he was the
creator of the medium. The Flemish artist revolutionized the technique through his demonstration of
the flexibility of the use of oils and the impact they could have on light, shadow and colors.
Anthonis Mor
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Title: Portrait of Philip II on Saint Quentin’s Day, 1560
Artist: Anthonis Mor (Flemish c.1517/20-1576-7)
Permanent Collection:
© Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial,
Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid (10014146)
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
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Known as the "Bronzino of the North", Antonio Moro or Anthonis Mor was a favorite portratist
of King Philip II of Spain. The Hapsburg monarch was known to be a devout catholic and often
commissioned religious based works; like all Kings he wanted portraits of himself.
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Mor had a mannerist style; his sitters were often painted in tall, narrow poses, such as the
1660 Portrait of Philip II on Saint Quentin’s Day. The artist was popular with Philip and his style had a
heavy influence on other royal portraitists for decades.
Maerten van Heemskerck
Title: Portrait of a Lady with Spindle and Distaff, about 1529–31
Artist: Maerten van Heemskerck (Dutch 1498–1574)
Permanent Collection: © Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (183
Image Courtesy: National Gallery London
Considered the leading artist of his time in Haarlem, the Dutch Maerten van Heemskerck spent two
years under the tutelage of Jan van Scorel. The influence was so heavy, that despite having studied
with other artists the style of these two became so intertwined that experts found it
nearly impossible to differentiate between their works.
Taking a trip to Italy van Heemskerck, like many artists before him, fell under the everlasting spell
of Michelangelo. Upon his return to the Netherlands, his later works reflected the deep impact viewing
the classical sculptures, ruins, and Renaissance masters works had had on him. He was an avid sketcher and is
said, through the hundreds of prints he created, to have been one of those responsible for bringing the style
of the Mannerist movement to the countries of Northern Europe.
Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian examines Renaissance portraiture in
exceptional depth with over seventy works on display.
Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian
National Gallery, London:
October 15 2008 - January 19, 2009
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