Portrait of a Knight of Malta (Scipione Papafava?)

Bernardo Strozzi

Download hi-res image TITLE Portrait of a Knight of Malta (Scipione Papafava?)
AUTHOR Bernardo Strozzi
DATE c. 1629 (?)
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 129 x 98
INVENTORY 5639
ROOM XXXII
Work on display

The knight, portrayed in a three-quarter pose sporting the white eight-pointed cross of the Knights of Malta and carrying the red baton of a Marshal of the Order, may be the Paduan nobleman Scipione Papafava, the prior of Messina. His complexion, his ruddy cheeks and nose, the way he stands out against a dark background, the beauty of his lace and the thick brush strokes are all reminiscent of Rubens, while his academic formality may have been influenced by the presence in Genoa of Sir Anthony van Dyck.