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Portrait of a Young Man; (reverse) Girl Making a Garland

ca. 1508
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 612

Double-sided portraits from the Renaissance sometimes combine a straightforward depiction of the sitter with a more symbolic picture on the reverse. This example pairs the likeness of a young man with the image of a girl making a flower garland in a windowsill. A curling banderole above her reads, "I bind with forget-me-nots," while the cat symbolizes respectable love. Viewed in sequence, the two sides of the portrait confirm the young man’s identity as a bridegroom.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Young Man; (reverse) Girl Making a Garland
  • Artist: Hans Süss von Kulmbach (German, Kulmbach ca. 1480–1522 Nuremberg)
  • Date: ca. 1508
  • Medium: Oil on poplar
  • Dimensions: 7 x 5 1/2 in. (17.8 x 14 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.21
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
The Ascension of Christ, Hans Süss von Kulmbach German, Oil on fir
The Ascension of Christ
Hans Süss von Kulmbach
1513
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe), Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver, German
Shield for the Field or Tournament (Targe)
German
ca. 1450
Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger, Aelbert Bouts Netherlandish, Oil on poplar
Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Charger
Aelbert Bouts
ca. 1500
Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), Hans Holbein the Younger German, Oil and gold on oak
Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560)
Hans Holbein the Younger
1532
Saint Eustace and Saint George, Hans Süss von Kulmbach German, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash
Saint Eustace and Saint George
Hans Süss von Kulmbach
ca. 1511

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