Artwork
Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck
Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck is an oil painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Jacometto Veneziano. It dates from 1496 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The portrait of Alvise Contarini (attributed) is rendered in oil on a wooden panel, a technique typical of early Renaissance portraiture.
The portrait of Alvise Contarini (attributed) is rendered in oil on a wooden panel, a technique typical of early Renaissance portraiture. The work, dated to 1496, depicts a man seen in profile, characteristic of Jacometto Veneziano's style. The oil paint creates subtle modeling of facial features and a restrained palette that emphasizes linear clarity.
The support is a panel, which was common for small devotional and portrait paintings of the period. The painting is presently held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Robert Lehman Collection.
History & Provenance
The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it forms part of the Robert Lehman Collection. The work is owned through the Robert Lehman bequest and located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sources confirm its current institutional housing but do not provide a specific accession number or any documented exhibition history for the work.
Overview
Created in 1496 by Jacometto Veneziano, this oil painting presents a half-length portrait of a man, identified as Alvise Contarini, set against a serene landscape. The sitter is depicted in three-quarter view, turned slightly away from the viewer, wearing a dark robe and a black hat that contrasts with his short, reddish-brown hair and prominent jawline. His expression is serious and contemplative, characteristic of Venetian portraiture of the late Quattrocento.
The background features a calm, flat expanse where a blue sky meets a distant horizon of trees and water, rendered with smooth, even brushstrokes that emphasize atmospheric clarity. The work exemplifies the artist's skill in capturing psychological depth through restrained composition and subtle modeling of light on the face. The reverse side of the panel depicts a tethered roebuck, a motif often associated with themes of restraint or nobility in Renaissance art.
This piece stands as a significant example of Jacometto's contribution to 15th-century Italian portraiture, reflecting the era's blend of individual characterization and idealized naturalism.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a man in profile, his gaze directed slightly away from the viewer. He wears a dark robe and a black hat, his features marked by a serious expression, short reddish-brown hair, and a prominent jawline. Behind him, a tranquil blue sky meets a distant landscape of trees and water, providing a subdued backdrop.
This formal presentation, coupled with the quiet setting, conveys a sense of the sitter's status. The reverse of the panel depicts a tethered roebuck.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jacometto Veneziano was an Italian painter and manuscript illuminator active in Venice in the late fifteenth century, where he died around 1497.
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