


Solario may have returned to Milan in 1495, when Ludovico il Moro summoned his brother to carve in the Certosa di Pavia. The influence of Leonardo and of Boltraffio became stronger and can be seen, in this portrait, in the three-quarter pose on a dark background, in the details struck by slanting light, in the subtlety of the reflections, in the sitter’s penetrating gaze and in the subtle ambiguity of his pose, the hand over the heart indicating religious devotion but also profane love.

AUTHOR Andrea Solario
DATE 1500 - 5
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Tempera and oil on panel
DIMENSIONS cm 42 x 32
INVENTORY 325
ROOM XI
Work on display