| The "Portrait of a Young Man" by Francesco Salviati probably dates from Salviati’s second Roman period, after 1548. The young man wears a fine leather jerkin over a slit red doublet. His right hand carefully holds the neck of a young deer that is unafraid to lick the back of his other hand. Salviati preferred to paint three-quarter views of his subjects. Combined with the plain background that is differentiated only in terms of light and shade, this adds a new element to his work, a sense of depth and a sculptural quality embracing the whole figure. Venetian painters in particular had a preference for painting sitters in three-quarter length poses, their arms bent and hands visible. Titian’s portraits of noblemen from as early as the 1520s illustrate the point. The language of Mannerism is revealed in a new, elongated ideal figure and an inclination towards emphatic and often slightly artificial gestures. Salviati’s concrete implementation of this shows the influence of Parmigianino. The new sense of unemotional composure accords entirely with Mannerist sensibilities. As a means of expressing character, accessories acquire far greater significance: the tame deer symbolizes shyness, gentleness and vulnerability, qualities that are also reflected in the young man’s gentle features and suggest kinship between the two. His delicate hands are another strongly expressive element. |
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Oil on panel
height 89 cm, width 69 cm
Inv.-No. GE848
Provenance: probably Guadagni Collection in Florence; before 1894 in the Torrigiani Collection in Florence; 1894 acquired by Prince Johann II von Liechtenstein from the dealer Stefano Bardini in Florence
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