Artwork
Portrait of a Young Man
Portrait of a Young Man is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Fra Galgario. It dates from 1720 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It is an oil on canvas work created in 1720 by Giuseppe Ghislandi, also known as Fra Galgario, and belongs to the portrait genre.
The painting titled Portrait of a Young Man depicts a youthful male sitter, identified in the documentation as a man. It is an oil on canvas work created in 1720 by Giuseppe Ghislandi, also known as Fra Galgario, and belongs to the portrait genre. The composition reflects the conventions of 18th‑century Italian portraiture, presenting the subject in a straightforward manner without overt allegorical attributes.
The work entered the National Gallery of Art through the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, having been purchased in 1932 and gifted to the museum in 1939, and it remains part of the Kress Collection. Its provenance traces from the Barberini Collection in Rome to the Kress acquisition and subsequent donation. The subject’s identity is not further specified, leaving the portrait’s symbolic meaning tied to its function as a representation of an individual of the period.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 73 cm in height and 56.5 cm in width. Its technique reflects the refined chiaroscuro typical of Giuseppe Ghislandi, with delicate transitions between light and shadow to model the young man’s face and costume. The handling is precise yet fluid, particularly in the rendering of facial features and the lace collar, where individual brushstrokes remain visible yet coalesce into lifelike detail.
The composition is restrained and inward, centering on the sitter’s direct gaze and calm demeanor, which align with the restrained elegance of early eighteenth-century Venetian portraiture.
History & Provenance
Executed in 1720 by Giuseppe Ghislandi, also known as Fra Galgario, this oil on canvas portrait originated within the Barberini Collection in Rome. By 1929, the work had entered the possession of Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, also based in Rome. The painting was subsequently acquired in 1932 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York.
Seven years later, in 1939, Kress donated the piece to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains part of the institution's permanent collection.
Portrait of a Young Man is presently housed in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it forms part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection acquired through the foundation’s gift in 1939. The work’s provenance traces the Barberini Collection in Rome, then Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi (by 1929), followed by the Kress Foundation’s purchase in 1932. Exhibition history includes a showing in the 1929 Il settecento italiano exhibition at the Palazzo della Biennale, Venice, and inclusion in the Kress Foundation’s traveling exhibition of Italian paintings that circulated between 1932 and 1935.
Overview
Giuseppe Ghislandi's Portrait of a Young Man, an oil on canvas painting from approximately 1720, captures the likeness of an unidentified individual. This work serves as a characteristic example of the artist's portraiture, highlighting his ability to render a subject with directness and a focused intensity. It invites contemplation of the sitter's presence and the artistic conventions of the early 18th century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Fra’ Galgario (4 March 1655 – December 1743), born Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi, and also called Fra’ Vittore del Galgario, was an Italian painter, mainly active in Bergamo as a portraitist during the Rococo or late-Baroque period.
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