 |
| Giorgione Self Portrait Budapest, 31.5 x 28.5 cm Oil on paper, mounted on wood |
In
the first decade of the sixteenth century at the very height of the Renaissance
six of the world’s greatest painters were active in Italy. We have all heard of
Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael but Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione and Titian
matched them in Venice. Of the six we know the least about Giorgione who died
at about the age of 33 in 1510 at the height of his career.
Even
though we have very little biographical information, we might have a very fine
self-portrait of the artist. In a Budapest Museum there is a striking portrait
of a young man that might be Giorgione himself. It is a small painting
measuring 31.5 x 28.5 cm done in oil on paper and then mounted on wood. The
painting bears a close resemblance to one in Braunschweig that has been identified
as a self-portrait in the guise of David.
 |
| Giorgione: Self Portrait as David Braunschweig, 52 x 43 cm Oil on canvas |
In
her 1997 Giorgione catalog Jaynie Anderson gave the Braunschweig “David” to
Giorgione but believed that the Budapest version was a later copy. In their
1997 catalog Pignatti and Pedrocco did not include either painting in their
list of works by Giorgione.
The
Budapest painting was included in the 2004 Giorgione exhibition held in both
Venice and Vienna. The catalog,
“Giorgione Myth and Enigma”, described it in this way:
The paintings in Budapest and Braunschweig share the position of the head, the striking features, the facial expression with the knitted brow, drooping mouth and prominent chin. But the gaze in this small picture [Budapest] is much more direct, penetrating, critically examining; and at the same time the position of the head seems consciously posed. Instead of the melancholy, contemplative expression we find in the Braunschweig painting, there is a feeling of concentrated self-expression.
The
catalog noted that some have called the painting a copy, perhaps by Dosso Dossi
or Palma Vecchio, but sided with those who “defend its authenticity.” It cited
Baldass who in 1955 gave it to Giorgione and said: “The sketch is made from the
life model.”
In
his 2007 Giorgione catalog Wolfgang Eller also gave both paintings to Giorgione
mainly on stylistic grounds, and he noted that the Budapest “self-portrait is
one of the first oil sketches on paper.”
The use of paper support is much more customary for sketches and
drafts than for copies executed in oil. The type of depiction makes is appear
probable that Giorgione painted the picture in the evening sitting in front of
a mirror in his atelier.[1]
In
his Lives of the Painters Vasari credited Giorgione with the invention of the
modern manner and since then most scholars have agreed that Giorgione’s work
signaled a revolution in art.
At
the same time when Florence was acquiring so much renown form the works of
Leonardo, the city of Venice obtained no small glory from the talents and
excellence of one of its citizens, by whom the Bellini, then held in such
esteem, were very far surpassed, as were all others who had practiced painting
up to that time in that city. This was Giorgio, born in the year 1478, at
Castelfranco, in the territory of Treviso…Giorgio was, at a later period,
called Giorgione, as well from the character of his person as for the
exaltation of his mind….[2]
I
would like to believe that the man in the Budapest painting is Giorgione. He is
young, self-confident, and his expression shows that audacity that marked all
his work. With his long hair and prominent features he even resembles the man
in the "Tempest". ###
 |
| Giorgione: Tempest |
No comments:
Post a Comment