Knight of Malta

Tiziano · 1510s

Knight of Malta - Tiziano

A bearded young man emerges from the dark, a silver cross on his chest and rosary beads in his hand. On the last bead he carries his age: thirty-five. For centuries no one could agree who painted him.

The story behind the painting

Portrait of a Knight of Malta is an oil on canvas by Titian from about 1515, now in the Uffizi in Florence. It came there through Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, who bought Venetian paintings through his agent in Venice, Paolo del Sera; it was already considered an autograph work. It was shown in the Tribuna in 1677, attributed to Giorgione in 1709 according to a label on the back, then moved to the villa of Poggio a Caiano. After several more moves it finally came back to the Uffizi in 1798.

What to look for

The half-length figure, about 80 by 64 cm, emerges from a dark background. He wears long hair and a beard in the fashion of the time, and a black robe open over a white shirt, with a silver cross pinned to his chest marking him as a Knight of Malta. The bodice has elaborate silver embroidery. A multi-strand gold collar ends in a pendant with pearls and an emerald that also recalls the Maltese cross. Near the edge his right hand holds large rosary beads, and the last one bears the number XXXV, his age.

Meaning and intent

The face, framed by dark hair and beard, has a delicate softness that recalls Giorgione. The solid volume of the body and the skill with materials are Titian's own: the woolly cloth of the robe, the shine of the shirt gathered in thick folds, the softness of the hair, the brilliance of the gold. W.F. Dickes argued that the sitter was Stefano Colonna da Palestrina, the condottiero who led the republican resistance in the siege of Florence. Some critics accepted this, while others questioned it, since nothing records Colonna as a knight.

Legacy

In the nineteenth century the paint had oxidised, and attribution became a puzzle. Crowe, Cavalcaselle and Giovanni Morelli could not decide; Otto Mundler in 1869 named Pietro della Vecchia, Roberto Longhi named Paris Bordone, and other critics moved between Giorgione and Titian. Stefano Scarpelli's restoration in 1998 finally allowed it to be identified as an early Titian, still strongly shaped by Giorgione. The man himself remains unnamed, known only by his cross, his rosary and his thirty-five years.

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Wikipedia · Wikidata

Sobre el artista

Tiziano (1488-1576)

retrato · varón · Alto Renacimiento · escuela veneciana · Galería Uffizi · hombre desconocido

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