Attributed to Masaccio (Castel San Giovanni, 1401 - 1428, Rome)
A Young Man in a Scarlet Turban, about 1425-1427
Tempera on panel , 41 x 30 cm (16 1/8 x 11 13/16 in.)
This vertical tempera on panel painting shows a light-medium-skinned young man in profile, looking to our left. He has short bark brown hair and a large, straight nose with a neutral expression on his face. The scarlet turban on his head is intricately wrapped and voluptuous. He has a dark red and purple robe over a black shirt with a white collar and a light blue scarf around his lower neck. The background is very dark teal blue. Painting rests in a grooved, slightly gilded frame.
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Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 236. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 89. (as Masaccio)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), pp. 12, 59, ill. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Ugo Procacci. Tutta la pittura di Masaccio (Milan, 1951), pp. 35, 37, 39, fig. 85. (as Masaccio)
William N. Mason. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 15 (9 Dec. 1962), pp. 1-2. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Luciano Berti. Masaccio (Milan, 1964), pp. 81, 144, figs. 49, 51. (as Paolo Uccello?)
Rab Hatfield. "Five Early Renaissance Portraits." The Art Bulletin 47 (1965), pp. 315-34, fig. 23. (as Piero della Francesca?)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 9, no. 27 (6 Mar. 1966), p. 2. (excerpting Rab Hatfield, p. 332)
Luciano Berti. L'opera completa di Masaccio (Milan, 1968), pp. 88-89, ill. (as Paolo Uccello)
Carlo De Bravo. Masaccio Tutte le Opera (Florence, 1969), no. 47. (as Masaccio)
Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections (Cambridge, 1972), p. 123. (as Masaccio)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 160-61. (as Masaccio, dated 1425-1427)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), p. 24, ill. (as Masaccio, dated about 1425-1427)
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 158-162, 169, 170, 246, 546, ill.
Hilliard Goldfarb. Imaging the Self in Renaissance Italy. Exploring Treasures in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum III. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1992), p. 5. (as attributed to Masaccio)
Michel, Prince of Greece. Portrait et séduction (Paris, 1992), p. 211. (as Masaccio)
John T. Spike. Masaccio (New York, 1995), p. 207, fig. A3. (as Masaccio?)
Miklos Bóskovits. "Da Masaccio a Piero del Pollaiuolo: Studi sul ritratto Fiorentino Quattrocentesco - I parte." Art Cristiana 781, (July-Aug.,1997), pp. 255-263, fig. 8. (as Masaccio)
Richard Fremantle. Masaccio (Florence, 1998), pp. 101, 122, no. A8.
Patricia Rubin. "Understanding Renaissance Portraiture" in Keith Christiansen and Stefan Weppelmann (eds.) The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini. Exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), pp. 11, 23.
Neville Rowley in Keith Christiansen and Stefan Weppelmann (eds.) The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini. Exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), pp. 88-92, cat. 2. (as Masaccio, dated about 1426-1427)
Carl Brandon Strehlke. "Fra Filippo Masaccio" in Enrico Parlato. Altro rinascimento, il giovane Filippo Lippi e la Madonna di Tarquinia. Exh. cat. (Rome: Palazzo Barberini, 2017), p. 46, note 28.
Object details
Accession number
P15e26
Primary Creator
Masaccio (Castel San Giovanni, 1401 - 1428, Rome)
Full title
A Young Man in a Scarlet Turban
Creation Date
about 1425-1427
Provenance
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Emilio Costantini, Florence in December 1898 for 11,000 lire through Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), American art historian.
Dimensions
41 x 30 cm (16 1/8 x 11 13/16 in.)
Display Media
Tempera on panel
Dimension Notes
Frame: 54.6 x 42.5 cm (21 1/2 x 16 3/4 in.)
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Early Italian Room
Bibliography
Catalogue. Fenway Court (Boston, 1903), p. 11. (as Masaccio)Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 236. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 89. (as Masaccio)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), pp. 12, 59, ill. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Ugo Procacci. Tutta la pittura di Masaccio (Milan, 1951), pp. 35, 37, 39, fig. 85. (as Masaccio)
William N. Mason. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 15 (9 Dec. 1962), pp. 1-2. (as Masaccio, dated 1427-1429)
Luciano Berti. Masaccio (Milan, 1964), pp. 81, 144, figs. 49, 51. (as Paolo Uccello?)
Rab Hatfield. "Five Early Renaissance Portraits." The Art Bulletin 47 (1965), pp. 315-34, fig. 23. (as Piero della Francesca?)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 9, no. 27 (6 Mar. 1966), p. 2. (excerpting Rab Hatfield, p. 332)
Luciano Berti. L'opera completa di Masaccio (Milan, 1968), pp. 88-89, ill. (as Paolo Uccello)
Carlo De Bravo. Masaccio Tutte le Opera (Florence, 1969), no. 47. (as Masaccio)
Burton B. Fredericksen and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections (Cambridge, 1972), p. 123. (as Masaccio)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 160-61. (as Masaccio, dated 1425-1427)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), p. 24, ill. (as Masaccio, dated about 1425-1427)
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 158-162, 169, 170, 246, 546, ill.
Hilliard Goldfarb. Imaging the Self in Renaissance Italy. Exploring Treasures in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum III. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1992), p. 5. (as attributed to Masaccio)
Michel, Prince of Greece. Portrait et séduction (Paris, 1992), p. 211. (as Masaccio)
John T. Spike. Masaccio (New York, 1995), p. 207, fig. A3. (as Masaccio?)
Miklos Bóskovits. "Da Masaccio a Piero del Pollaiuolo: Studi sul ritratto Fiorentino Quattrocentesco - I parte." Art Cristiana 781, (July-Aug.,1997), pp. 255-263, fig. 8. (as Masaccio)
Richard Fremantle. Masaccio (Florence, 1998), pp. 101, 122, no. A8.
Patricia Rubin. "Understanding Renaissance Portraiture" in Keith Christiansen and Stefan Weppelmann (eds.) The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini. Exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), pp. 11, 23.
Neville Rowley in Keith Christiansen and Stefan Weppelmann (eds.) The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini. Exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), pp. 88-92, cat. 2. (as Masaccio, dated about 1426-1427)
Carl Brandon Strehlke. "Fra Filippo Masaccio" in Enrico Parlato. Altro rinascimento, il giovane Filippo Lippi e la Madonna di Tarquinia. Exh. cat. (Rome: Palazzo Barberini, 2017), p. 46, note 28.
Rights and reproductions
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Early Italian Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.