Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
Original title: Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
kurzbeschreibung
Henri Dubouchet engraved this portrait of the Italian Renaissance courtier and author Baldassare Castiglione in 1870. The sheet is a proof pulled on chine collé. Castiglione is remembered above all for his book Il Cortegiano, and this print reproduces the well-known likeness of the man.
Description
The sitter's gaze meets the viewer straight on and draws attention to a serious, inward-looking face. A black head covering trimmed with a knot sits above dark garments, with a white shirt showing at the neck, and a long, thick beard frames the features. Face and upper body are placed at the centre of the sheet, while the background stays plain and neutral. Everything is rendered in a single tone, as an etching should be, and the light falls evenly across the surface without pronounced shadows.
Context
The model for this engraving was Raphael's celebrated painting of Castiglione, made around 1514–1515 and now in the Louvre in Paris. The French printmaker Henri Dubouchet produced the reproduction in 1870; he was known for his engravings after Renaissance masterpieces.
Impact
A calm, dignified mood comes off the sheet, in keeping with the sitter's serious character. Beard and clothing are recorded so precisely that the surfaces feel almost tangible, carrying the viewer back to the age of the Renaissance.
Technique
Dubouchet worked the plate as a copper engraving on chine collé, a thin paper pasted onto a stronger support sheet. This particular impression is a proof, printed before the final edition. Delicate, precisely drawn lines match the etching practice of the nineteenth century.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)