Artwork
Portrait of a Gentleman with a Lion Paw
Portrait of a Gentleman with a Lion Paw is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Lorenzo Lotto. It dates from 1527 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The paw likely functions as a visual anagram for the sitter’s name, Leonino Brembati, aligning with Lotto’s characteristic punning iconography.
The portrait depicts a gentleman in a sumptuous black fur-lined coat, posed before red and green drapery, with his right hand touching his heart and his left presenting a gilt lion’s paw. The paw likely functions as a visual anagram for the sitter’s name, Leonino Brembati, aligning with Lotto’s characteristic punning iconography.
Scholars also note the lion’s paw as a heraldic device on the Brembati family seal, reinforcing the identification. The rings on the sitter’s hand carry the family’s truncated white-and-black shield with a red band, further linking the image to Leonino and his wife Lucina, whose own portrait by Lotto includes a similar rebus over the moon.
Technique & Style
The Portrait of a Gentleman with a Lion Paw is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, measuring 95.5 cm in height by 69.5 cm in width. The composition features a gentleman in a three-quarter pose, dressed in a sumptuous black coat trimmed with fur, set against a background of rich red and green textiles. The figure gestures toward his heart with one hand while displaying a gilded lion's paw with the other, a pose and dark attire that reflect the stylistic influence of Titian, the dominant Venetian painter of the era. The handling of the paint emphasizes the textures of the fur and the metallic sheen of the rings and the paw, characteristic of Lotto's approach to portraiture during his early Venetian period.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1524-1525, this oil-on-canvas portrait by Lorenzo Lotto is widely identified as depicting Leonino Brembati, a Bergamo nobleman. The commission likely stems from Brembati's role as guarantor for the Dominican order regarding the Martinengo Altarpiece, which established his proximity to the artist. Visual evidence, including a family signet ring visible in historical photographs and a symbolic lion's paw punning on the sitter's name, supports this attribution. The painting's documented history begins in 1679, when it appeared in an inventory of the collection belonging to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. The work entered the Archduke's holdings via the collection of Bartolomeo della Nave. It has remained in the same institutional care since, currently residing in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The *Portrait of a Gentleman with a Lion Paw* is currently held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The work entered the museum's collection via the inventory of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, where it was first listed in 1679. Prior to its inclusion in the Archduke's holdings, the painting originated from the collection of Bartolomeo della Nave. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the painting's provenance is firmly established from its 17th-century appearance in the Archduke's collection to its present residence in Vienna. No specific exhibition history is detailed in the provided sources.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He…
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