Artwork
Portrait of a Boy
Portrait of a Boy is an oil painting by the Early Renaissance artist Biagio d'Antonio. It is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi acquired it by October 1929, securing a connoisseurship opinion from Roberto Longhi that year.
Painted in 1478 by Biagio d'Antonio, the work entered the market in Munich by 1925 in the possession of Walter Schnackenberg.
By 1927 it was handled by F. Kleinberger in Paris and New York, who lent it to a 1927 exhibition at The Lotos Club. Raimond Van Marle recorded it in a private New York collection in 1931. Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi acquired it by October 1929, securing a connoisseurship opinion from Roberto Longhi that year.
On 26 June 1935 Contini Bonacossi sold the panel, along with other works, to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which in 1939 donated it to the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The Portrait of a Boy is currently held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The museum's accession number for the work is 1939.1.179, reflecting its status as a gift from the Kress Foundation in 1939. Its exhibition history includes a showing at The Lotos Club in 1927, where it was lent by the dealer F. Kleinberger.
While the painting resided in various private collections in New York and Florence during the 1920s, it has remained at the National Gallery of Art since its accession.
Context
The painting has attracted scholarly attention since the early twentieth century. Bernard Berenson's hand-written notes on a photograph of the work, preserved in the I Tatti archive, record his assessment of the portrait. Raimond Van Marle mentioned seeing the painting in a New York private collection in his 1931 survey of Italian painting, and Roberto Longhi offered a written opinion to its owner in October 1929.
Its public profile was raised when the Kleinberger gallery lent it to a 1927 exhibition at the Lotos Club. Records describe the work as a Florentine piece dating to about 1478, situating it within the Quattrocento portrait tradition.
Overview
This painting, titled Portrait of a Boy, was created by the artist Biagio d'Antonio around 1478. Executed with oil and tempera on a poplar panel, the work depicts a young male figure. The subject is presented against a natural background, characteristic of the period's developing approach to portraiture. The artwork reflects stylistic elements prevalent during the Renaissance.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a youthful boy with curly brown hair and distinct green eyes. He is dressed in a green shirt, layered beneath a red vest, indicating contemporary fashion. The figure is positioned before an expansive landscape, which includes rolling hills, scattered trees, and a clear blue sky. This setting provides a sense of depth and naturalism, moving beyond simple, flat backgrounds.
Technique & Style
Biagio d'Antonio employed a combination of oil and tempera paints on a poplar wood panel for this portrait. This mixed media approach allowed for both the rich color and blending capabilities of oil, alongside the precise detail often achieved with tempera. The painting's composition and naturalistic depiction of the subject and landscape are indicative of the broader artistic trends and innovations of the Italian Renaissance.
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