Portrait of an Old Man

mid-1500s

Portrait of an Old Man, mid-1500s. Attributed to Giulio Campi (Italian, c. 1500–1572). Oil on wood; framed: 120.7 x 91.4 x 11.4 cm (47 1/2 x 36 x 4 1/2 in.); unframed: 92.4 x 63.5 cm (36 3/8 x 25 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Holden Collection 1916.794 Part of a distinguished family of Northern northern Italian painters, Campi depicts his sitter with an unidealized face dominated by carefully observed wrinkles. He stares out intently while grasping what may be a letter with its paper seal broken in his right hand. Despite this intense gaze the figure does not establish a lively connection with the viewer, and his mood remains distant and reserved, in keeping with Renaissance ideas about elegant comportment. Though his costume appears plain, the sumptuous black fabric was indicative of high status in some parts of Europe. --Michele Frederick (December 2011)