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Portrait of a Man, possibly Matteo di Sebastiano di Bernardino Gozzadini

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Portrait of a Man, possibly Matteo di Sebastiano di Bernardino Gozzadini

Attributed to the Maestro delle Storie del Pane  (Italian (Emilian), active late 15th century)

Date:
1494(?)
Culture:
Italian, Emilia Romagna
Medium:
Tempera on wood
Dimensions:
Overall 20 3/4 x 14 5/8 in. (52.7 x 37.1 cm); painted surface 19 3/8 x 14 in. (49.2 x 35.6 cm)
Classification:
Paintings
Credit Line:
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number:
1975.1.95

This artwork is not on display

  • Description

    These pendant portraits (1975.1.95 and 1975.1.96) represent a husband and wife of the Gozzadini family of Bologna; the family's coat of arms appears prominently in each painting. The inscribed architectural frieze in the background, which runs across both panels, attests to the commemorative nature of the subject: VT SIT NOSTRA FORMA SVPERSTES (In order that our features may survive).

    There are many allusions to matrimony in these portraits, which were probably made to celebrate a betrothal or marriage. The male sitter holds a spray of pinks, flowers often associated with engagement. His wife holds an apple or a peach, common symbols or love and marriage. The pelican and phoenix at lower left in the male portrait refer respectively to charity and resurrection-Christian virtues here associated with the sacrament of marriage. In the lower right corner of the female portrait are two rabbits and a girl confronting a unicorn, the former connoting fecundity and the latter chastity.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Inscription: Inscribed (upper right, on building): VT SIT NOSTRA . . . (in order that our . . . )

  • Provenance

    Contessa Gozzadini, Bologna; Stefano Bardini, Florence; Bardini sale, Christie's, London, May 26-30, 1902, lot 600 (bt. Anderson); [Galerie Trotti, Paris, 1909]; Acquired by Philip Lehman from Trotti in October 1911.

150000085:2

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