Portrait of a Gentleman

2026-08-29

Portrait of a Gentleman

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Italian, 1483–1561)

Date
c. 1505
Origin
Italy
Medium
Oil, with tempera (?), on panel, transferred to canvas
Dimensions
68.2 × 49.2 cm (26 11/16 × 19 3/8 in.); Framed: 94.7 × 77.5 × 8.3 cm (37 1/4 × 30 1/2 × 3 1/4 in.)
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

The unknown sitter in this arresting portrait wears a furlined robe and capuccio, a hood rolled up and worn as a hat—both conventional apparel for well-to-do Florentine merchants. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio’s pyramidal presentation of the sitter and use of active, searching light reveal his study of portraits by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. The son of renowned Florentine painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo successfully continued the family workshop well into the 16th century.