Tiberio Titi

Early 17th Century by Tiberio Titi Portrait of a Gentleman Oil on panel

Early 17th Century

Giovanni Maria Butteri (Florence, Italy, 1540 - 1606) Title: Portrait of Francesco I Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame cm. 47.7 x 39 - with frame cm. 55.2 x 46.5 Expertise by Carlo Falciani, art historian Fairs: The International Biennial of Antiques in Florence 2024 (BIAF, Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze) Publications: From Sacro to Profano, the Giorgio Baratti art collection from Milan, exhibition catalogue curated by Daiva Mitrulevičiūtė, Giovanni Matteo Guidetti and Ileana Maniscalco, (16 February – 27 September 2020), Vilnius, National Museum - Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, pp. 566-569. This valuable portrait, by the painter Giovanni Maria Butteri, an exponent of Mannerism and active mainly in Florence, portrays Francesco I de' Medici (1541 - 1587) eldest son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany...

Giuseppe Assereto (Genova - 1626 ca – Genova 1656/57) Title: Portrait of an elderly woman, possible portrait of Maddalena Massone, wife of Gioacchino Assereto Medium: Oil on canvas D...

Carlo Ceresa (San Giovanni Bianco 1609 - Bergamo 1679) attributable Full-length portrait of Giacomo Pesenti Oil on canvas (206 x 121 cm - in frame 212 x 133 cm.) This fascinating portrait, portraying a full-length gentleman and datable to the 17th century, illustrates the stylistic and compositional details typical of the pictorial production of the Lombardy area, Bergamo in particular. This reference is reflected in elements such as the natural light, the sober and austere setting and, above all, the subtle psychological characterisation of the face. We are inclined to identify the hand of portrait painter Carlo Ceresa, one of the most illustrious Bergamasque figure painters of the 17th century, capable of developing a style of intense realism and acute psychological investigation. In his works, and our portrait perfectly reflects his canons, an extraordinary naturalistic imprint, great realism and remarkable essentiality are evident. Those traits of severity, moral rigour and austerity typical of his portraiture find a perfect balance here: never courtly or rhetorical, his portraits are profoundly linked to the concept of counter-reform. Immortalising the main personalities of the time, he established himself as a point of reference for the Bergamasque aristocracy, from the Vertova to the Pesenti to the Secco Suardo. The subject of the portrait is Giacomo Pesenti, here immortalised life-size in a rigorous black suit, his left hand resting on a table, on which is placed the necessities for writing and a manuscript, and his right hand, with a sealed ring on his little finger, abandoned along his side while he holds his gloves. He wears a suit of incredible rigour, dressed as befits a man of his high social standing, while the sharp light focuses on his face, with an intensity that seems to be accentuated by the reflection of the white collar, with its sharp profile. For Ceresa, it is not the richness of the garment that gives value to the person portrayed, it is the need to give feeling and bring out the character of the person, and this he succeeds in marvellously, aided by his ability to capture the essence of the person and return it to us in painting through the face and light used as a strong expressive element. In fact, the image highlights that 'counter-reformed' composure typical of the portraiture of painters active in this area and era, adhering to a verism...

This recently rediscovered portrait of Santi di Tito depicts a Florentine senator, with a letter in his hand indicating that the painting was executed in 1574 when the sitter was 66 years old. On the basis of these clues, it is tempting to view it as a portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi, who was painted some thirty years before by Bronzino (1503 - 1572). While the treatment of the hands recalls the Florentine tradition of Mannerist portraits, the comparison with Bronzino's portrait illustrates Santi di Tito's search for greater realism, despite the stereotyped composition. 1. Santi di Tito, Counter-Reformation painter and portraitist Santi di Tito was the great painter of the Florentine Counter-Reformation. He proposed a new artistic language that broke away from Mannerism. Little is known about his training in Florence (perhaps alongside Bronzino or Baccio Bandinelli), but this period of training enabled him to join the Company of Saint Luke, the guild of Florentine painters, in 1554. Between 1560 and 1564, Santi di Tito spent time in Rome, where he frequented the workshop of Taddeo Zuccari. This stay had a fundamental influence on his work, thanks to the discovery of the late work of Raphael, but also his encounters with the painters Francesco Salviati and Federico Barocci. Around 1565, Santi di Tito returned to Florence, where he remained until the end of his life, dividing his talents between the creation of important religious paintings and countless portraits. He became one of the city's leading painters, distinguishing himself, in particular, in the creation of large religious compositions in which the spirit of the Counter-Reformation was reflected. In 1568, Santi di Tito became a member of the Confraternity of Saint Thomas Aquinas...