| Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Parmigianino |
| Year | 1524 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 109 cm× 81 cm(43 in× 32 in) |
| Location | National Museum of Capodimonte |
Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale (1524) is a painting of the condottiero Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Parmigianino worked for a short period at the Sanvitale family court in their "Rocca" (palace-fortress) in Fontanellato (in what is now the province of Parma). The work, dated 1524 on the rear, was executed during his stay there, before he moved to Rome the following year. He also executed the Stufetta of Diana and Actaeon and a cycle of frescoes in the private room of Paola Gonzaga, wife of Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale. The work was part of the Farnese collections in 1587, when it is mentioned for the first time in an inventory. The work had been perhaps acquired by duke Ottavio Farnese in 1561 when he acquired from bishop Eucherio Sanvitale the casino (mansion) of Codiponte, in the Ducal Park of Parma. Eucherio was the son of Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale, and had inherited the family's possessions in 1550. [1]
The portrait, together with the whole Farnese collection, was moved from Parma to Naples in 1784. The French removed it in 1799, and it was later at Palermo until 1816, before returning to Naples. [1] During the various changes of hands the painting lost its original identification, and was considered a portrait of Christopher Columbus (likely due to the presence, in the hat, of a representation of the Pillars of Hercules) from Raphael's school. A descendant of Galeazzo Sanvitale, Luigi, recognized his ancestor based on some documents, in 1857. The re-attribution to Parmigianino occurred in 1894. [1]
There are some preparatory drawings at the Cabinet des Dessins of the Louvre (6472 recto and verso) and in the Tobley Collection. [1]
The work is a "parade portrait", destined to enhance the count's image in front of his guests, and not a private depiction: this is visible in the rich display of objects showing his interests and his refined costumes. [1]
The count, then 28, is portrayed on a "Savonarola" chair from three-quarters but with the face looking towards the viewer. He wears a wide black jacket, according to the contemporary alla Francese ("French-style") fashion, under which two red sleeves and the white shirt (with embroideries at the wrist) are visible. The elegant beret is in the same scarlet as the sleeves, and sports gilt pearls, a plum and a decorative cameo. The French style of the clothes is an allusion to the political allegiance of the Sanvitale at the time. [2]
The left hand lies on the chair's armrest: it has a golden ring with a stone on the little finger, and holds a glove, near the sword's hilt. The other hand is wearing a glove, and shows a bronze medal with two symbols. These symbols have been interpreted as a "C" and an "F", hinting at the title of Comes Fontanellati ("Count of Fontanellato"), or as a "72" (based on earlier inventories). The meaning of the number is subject to several speculations. It has been connected to alchemy, an allusion to the Moon and Jupiter or to the conjunction of the Sun and Moon, referring in turn to the marriage of Galeazzo and his wife Paola Gonzaga. There is no historical record that Sanvitale practiced alchemy: although Parmigiano likely did, art historians have found no reason he should insert coded elements into a portrait. [1]
On a table behind Sanvitale are pieces of a shining armor and a flanged mace, symbols of his military role as condottiero. Behind a wall, on the right, is a landscape with a tree.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma. His work is characterized by a "refined sensuality" and often elongation of forms and includes Vision of Saint Jerome (1527) and the iconic if somewhat anomalous Madonna with the Long Neck (1534), and he remains the best known artist of the first generation whose whole careers fall into the Mannerist period.
Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italian schools of painting, and some important ancient Roman sculptures. It is one of the largest museums in Italy. The museum was inaugurated in 1957.
Fontanellato is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the A1 autostrada, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Parma towards Piacenza.
The Rocca Sanvitale, or Sanvitale Castle, is a fortress residence in the centre of the town of Fontanellato, near Parma, northern Italy. Construction of the moated block, accessible through a drawbridge, was begun in the 13th century, mostly completed by the 15th century, with embellishments continuing through to the 18th century. It is prototypical of the urban castle-houses of the turbulent medieval communes of Northern Italy. Until the 1930s it was the home of the descendants of the Count of Sanvitale.
Events from the year 1524 in art.
Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo (1524) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Portrait of a Collector is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino, executed around 1524.
Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale, also known as Galeazzo I Sanvitale was an Italian condottiero, a member of the noble Sanvitale family.
Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
The Galleria nazionale di Parma is an art gallery in Parma, northern Italy.
Turkish Slave, also called Portrait of a Young Woman, is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino. The painting was executed around 1533. It is housed in the Galleria nazionale di Parma.
Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo is a painting by the Italian Mannerist artist Parmigianino, executed around 1535–1539 and housed in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. The subject was Count of San Secondo, and the painting forms a pair with a group portrait of his Countess and their children, Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons, although the latter is not unanimously attributed to Parmigianino.
The Sanvitale conspiracy was a plot to assassinate Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and members of his family at the baptism of his new-born son Alessandro in 1611. The conspiracy may also be referred to in Italian as the congiura dei feudatari, "conspiracy of the feudal lords", or as the congiura del 1611, "conspiracy of 1611".
Sanvitale is an Italian surname. It may refer to:
Portrait of a Man in a Red Beret or Self-Portrait in a Red Beret is an oil on paper painting attributed to Parmigianino or Michelangelo Anselmi, executed c. 1540, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Parma.
Female Martyr with Two Angels is a c.1523-1524 oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, now in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, to which it was donated in 1913 by Baroness Emilie Margarethe Beaulieu-Marconnay, member of a family of bankers and art patrons in the city.
Madonna of the Rose is a 1530 oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, now in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden.
The Casalmaggiore Altarpiece is a 1540 oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, now in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden, which acquired it from the Este collection in 1746.
Madonna and Child with Saint Zechariah is a c.1530–1533 oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, now in the Uffizi. It shows the Madonna and Child with Zechariah, father of John the Baptist.
The Sanvitale Madonna and Child is a 1524 fragment of a lunette fresco by Parmigianino at the Palazzetto Eucherio Sanvitale in Parma. It is heavily influenced by Correggio, particularly quoting his Madonna of the Stairs. It dates to just before Parmigianino set off for Rome in 1525, particularly by comparing it with his other works from that period such as his Diana and Actaeon frescoes at Rocca di Fontanellato. Preparatory drawings for the work survive in the British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings, the Cabinet des Dessins at the Louvre and a private collection.
