Tuscan painter active towards the end of the 16th century
Portrait of Captain Niccolò Orsini (Pitigliano, 1442 – Lonigo, 1510), Count of Pitigliano and Nola.
Tuscany, late 16th century
Oil on canvas, 64 x 47 cm., frame 89 x 73 cm.
Short video of the artwork: https://youtu.be/KrTxWGYWj6c
Complete details of this painting: https://www.antichitacastelbarco.it/it/prodotto/ritratto-di-niccolo-orsini--conte-di-pitigliano-
The portrait we present shows the effigy of a vigorous male figure of high rank in armor, in the most typical Renaissance pose, half-length and depicted in profile, with his face and gaze turned to the side; the serious and intense expression and facial features immediately evoke the portraiture of early Florentine Mannerism.
This is Niccolò III Orsini (Pitigliano, 1442 – Lonigo, 1510), Count of Pitigliano and Nola and son of Aldobrandino Orsini, a famous condottiero and mercenary captain who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, serving the Papal States in Naples and Florence and especially the Republic of Venice.
Portraiture with these characteristics, derived from ancient coinage, was used in the 16th century in sequences of Portraits of Illustrious Men, both in painting and sculpture. The profile portrait, according to Renaissance tradition, was a genre reserved for celebrations, displaying the characteristics of imperturbability typical of the military role held.
Our painting is a work by an artist active in Tuscany towards the end of the 16th century, adhering to those pictorial styles made famous by the portraitist Cristofano di Papi dell’Altissimo (1530-1605), a pupil of Bronzino and then Pontormo, known for creating a collection of about 500 portraits of illustrious men, known as the 'Gioviana Series' (now at the Uffizi Gallery); and among these, one dedicated to Niccolò Orsini can be identified.
Our painting draws inspiration, in particular, from an engraving from Aliprando Caprioli's collection of prints, 'Portraits of One Hundred Illustrious Captains' (Rome, 1596). Link: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1866-1208-746
The work, like all our items, is sold with a photographic expertise and descriptive sheet (FIMA Italia).
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Portrait of Niccolò Orsini of Pitigliano (Pitigliano, 1442 – Lonigo, 1510), from an engraving by Aliprando Caprioli "Portraits of One Hundred Illustrious Captains" (Rome, 1596)
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