Francesco Sforza

While the work is documented in seventeenth-century Barberini inventories, specific modern exhibition history is not detailed in the available records.

The painting, dated probably c. 1480/1500, was first documented in the collection of Cardinal Antonio Barberini in Rome. It passed by inheritance to Cardinal Carlo Barberini, and then through the Barberini family to Carlo's grandniece Cornelia Costanza, who brought it into the Colonna di Sciarra family through marriage. After the collection was divided in 1812, the panel entered the Carbognano branch and descended to Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, Principe di Carbognano, who sold it c. 1895 in Paris.

It was subsequently acquired by Leo Nardus and resold in 1898 to Peter A.B. Widener of Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. From Widener's estate it passed by gift through the power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, who gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.

The painting's earlier presence in the Barberini household is confirmed by its inclusion in seventeenth-century Barberini inventories, including a 1671 inventory drawn up at the death of Cardinal Antonio Barberini.

The painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1942 as a gift from Joseph E. Widener, exercising the power of appointment within the estate of his father, Peter A.B. Widener. Prior to this acquisition, the work had been sold in Paris around 1895 and subsequently purchased by Widener in 1898 for his residence at Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Its earlier provenance traces back through the Colonna di Sciarra and Barberini families in Rome before its late nineteenth-century dispersal.

While the work is documented in seventeenth-century Barberini inventories, specific modern exhibition history is not detailed in the available records.

The work presents a solitary figure in full armor, rendered in oil on a wooden panel. He is distinguished by a vivid red hat crowned with a gold tassel, a matching red ribbon encircling his neck, and a dark green backdrop that frames the composition. The portrait captures the sitter’s solemn expression, dark curly hair, and the intricate detailing of his black armor accented by a red strap.