Giovanni Battista Moroni (Albino, Italy, about 1525 - 1578)
Portrait of a Bearded Man in Black, 1576
Oil on canvas , 173.5 x 103.5 cm (68 5/16 x 40 3/4 in.)
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This large oil painting is a full length portrait of a glowering, light skinned man at middle age. He is centered in a background of taupe colored, plain, interior architectural elements that include a short dog-leg wall projection on the far right and a strong, horizontal delineation of simple chair rail. He stands facing the viewer with his left leg a step forward and his feet pointed perpendicular to each other. His hazel eyes meet the viewer’s gaze directly. His unsmiling lips form a thin straight line. His walnut brown is hair combed straight back off his high forehead. He has thin sideburns and a closely cropped beard with a thick downturned mustache and mouche. He has thick, brown, arched eyebrows and a large straight nose. He wears dark clothing except for a brilliant white, thin ruffle and matching cuffs that peek from his high collar and long sleeves. His fashionable vest and round, simple cap are made of dark fur. He holds the cap at his side in his ungloved right hand. He holds the gold hilt of a long, thin sword in his left hand. His sleeves and short balloon shaped pantaloons are made of rich black velvet. The pantaloons end mid-thigh. His shapely, muscular legs are covered with gray tights. His shoes are soft black slippers. Around his waist is a belt with gold circular decorations.
Titian Room
Commentary
Giovan Battista Moroni painted religious works and decorative schemes, but his fame derives from his portraits. The man in this work has not been identified, although he certainly exudes personality. The set of his jaw and his direct gaze demonstrate his resolve; Moroni shows him confidently stepping forward, one hand on the hilt of his sword. The neutral background, with Moroni’s characteristic imaginative architectural detail, allows the figure to command all our attention – save, perhaps, for the curiously thin-limbed, ghostly shadow on the wall behind him. The shadow heightens the believability of the depiction by marking his position in illusionistic space.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Portrait of a Man," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 93.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Portrait of a Man," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 93.