Artwork
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (born about 1446, died 1506)
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (born about 1446, died 1506) is an oil painting by the High Renaissance artist Sebastiano del Piombo. It dates from 1519 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1519 by Sebastiano del Piombo, the work functions as a posthumous portrait, depicting the subject as a solitary male figure.
The painting portrays a man identified as Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer who lived from approximately 1446 to 1506. Created in 1519 by Sebastiano del Piombo, the work functions as a posthumous portrait, depicting the subject as a solitary male figure. While the title suggests the sitter is Columbus, the visual representation adheres to the conventions of a formal portrait genre rather than illustrating specific narrative scenes or symbolic attributes associated with his voyages.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which currently houses the canvas, classifies the main subject explicitly as Christopher Columbus. The artwork serves as a historical likeness of the explorer, capturing his image more than a decade after his death, though it lacks detailed iconographic elements beyond the standard presentation of the individual.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a support choice consistent with Sebastiano del Piombo's practice and the painting's attribution to his Berlin-period activity in 1519. The canvas measures 106.7 by 88.3 centimeters, providing a vertical format suited to a half-length portrait composition. Classified as a painting within the portrait genre, the work relies on the layered handling and tonal modeling that oil medium permits, allowing for gradual transitions between light and shadow across the sitter's features.
The canvas support, rather than panel, places the work within a technical tradition favored for larger-scale portraits of the period. No information regarding the painting's present condition, surface state, or specific stylistic analysis is available in the consulted sources.
History & Provenance
Created in 1519 by Sebastiano del Piombo, this oil-on-canvas portrait depicts a man traditionally identified as Christopher Columbus. The work's provenance traces a complex ownership chain beginning with the Palatine dynasty, specifically Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg, and his successors Wolfgang William and Philip William, Elector Palatine. It subsequently passed to Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine, before entering the French collection of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord and his heir Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord.
By the late 19th century, the painting was in the hands of the Parisian dealer Georges Petit, followed by the London firms Lawrie & Co and Thomas Agnew & Sons. The American financier J. P. Morgan acquired the piece before it was eventually transferred to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains part of the permanent collection.
The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as confirmed by both the museum's own cataloguing and its Wikidata record. Its provenance traces through several distinguished owners before reaching the institution: it passed from Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg, to Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg, then to Philip William, Elector Palatine, followed by Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine. The work subsequently entered the collection of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord and then Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord.
Later it was held by the dealer Georges Petit, the firm Lawrie & Co, Thomas Agnew & Sons, and the financier J. P. Morgan, before being acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sources do not provide a specific accession number or a documented exhibition history for the work.
Overview
Sebastiano del Piombo painted Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus in 1519. This oil painting on panel depicts a figure identified as the explorer Christopher Columbus, who died in 1506. The work showcases the artist's mature style, developed after his move to Rome. It is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Sebastiano del Piombo (Italian:; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods, famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian…
