Imitator of Giorgione, 'A Man in Armour', probably 17th century

A Man in Armour

Imitator of Giorgione

Not on display

About the work

Overview

A young man is depicted full length in plate armour and chain mail. He does not wear a helmet but is armed with a sword and holds a lance or possibly the pole of a standard. Dramatic contrasts of light and dark create a mysterious, charged atmosphere. Reflections and glimmers of light and shade define the hard polished surface of the metal. The young man’s head, by contrast, has a soft, smoky quality. His eyes are lowered, and his contemplative mood seems at odds with his warlike costume.

This figure does not appear to be a portrait but seems to derive from the soldier saint at the left of the altarpiece of the Madonna and Saints by Giorgione in the Cathedral at Castelfranco (his home town). The painting, which is first certainly recorded in the early nineteenth century, was for a long time considered to be by Giorgione, but is now thought to be the work of a seventeenth-century imitator.

In-depth

A young man is depicted full length in plate armour and chain mail. This type of armour would have been used when the wearer was mounted on a horse. He does not have a helmet but is armed with a sword and holds a lance or possibly the pole of a standard, suggesting that a tournament or battle is imminent. His right arm rests at his side, his hand clutched in a fist. He appears to be standing on a stone ledge and emerges in three-quarter view from the dark background, which is only defined by the sweep of a curtain on the right.

Dramatic contrasts of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro, create a mysterious, charged atmosphere. Reflections and glimmers of light and shade define the hard polished surface of the steel armour. Finely observed details such as the shadows and reflections cast by the leather straps on the metal give a sense of tactile realism. The young man’s head, by contrast, is painted with great softness using a technique known as sfumato, literally a ‘smoky’ effect. He appears lost in thought, in the same way that his physical presence seems to dissolve into the darkness. His eyes are lowered, and his introspective mood seems at odds with his warlike costume. He embodies a combination of the active and contemplative life, as advocated by ancient philosophy and Christian theology.

This figure does not appear to be a portrait but seems to derive from the soldier saint, Nicasius, at the left of the altarpiece of the Madonna and Saints of about 1500 by Giorgione in the Cathedral at Castelfranco (his home town). In the altarpiece, Nicasius holds a standard with a red pennant with a white cross. His pose and armour are similar, but he holds a glove in his right hand and wears a helmet, and these are not shown in the National Gallery’s picture.

The painting, which is first certainly recorded in the early nineteenth century, was for a long time considered to be by Giorgione, but is now thought to be the work of a seventeenth-century imitator.

Key facts

Details

Full title: A Man in Armour
Artist: Imitator of Giorgione
Artist dates: 1473/4? – 1510
Date made: probably 17th century
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 39.7 × 27 cm
Acquisition credit: Bequeathed by Samuel Rogers, 1855
Inventory number: NG269
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

In the possession of Benjamin West by the year 1816, when he exhibited it at the B.I. (56). An inscription in French still existing on the back makes it probable that before that it was in the Prince de Conti sale (1777, no. 89—‘Le Giorgion. Le Portrait de Gaston de Foix. Bois. 14 pouces sur 10. On en connaît l’estampe par Lasne. 500 liv.’) and, before that again, in the Pierre Vigné de Vigny sale, 1st April, 1773 (no. 1—‘Georges Barbarelli dit le Giorgion.—Un homme en cuirasse qui se trouve dans le tableau qui est à Castel Franco, dans le Trevisan, représentant une Sainte Vierge assise sur des nuées entre St François et la figure peinte dans ce tableau; on prétend que c’est Gaston de Foix ... 15 pouces de haut; sur 10 pouces de large; on en trouve l’estampe gravée par l’Asne avec la marque de Raphael d’Urbin ... 499 liv. 19’). Earlier still perhaps in the collection of the first Duc de St Simon (‘le portrait de Gaston de Foix, attribué longtemps à Raphael, et probablement du Giorgione’). Benjamin West sale, 2nd day (24th June, 1820), lot 62, bought Samuel Rogers, by whom bequeathed, 1855.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2009

Giorgione

Museo Casa di Giorgione

12 December 2009 - 11 April 2010

Bibliography

1895

A.R., 'La Madone de Castelfranco', Gazette des beaux-arts, II, 1895, pp. 433-5
1907

H.F. Cook, Giorgione, London 1907
1912

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in North Italy: Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Ferrara, Milan, Friuli, Brescia, from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century, ed. T. Borenius, 2nd edn, 3 vols, London 1912
1923

C. Holmes, '"Giorgione" Problems at Trafalgar Square, I', The Burlington Magazine, XLII/241, 1923, pp. 169-81
1923

C. Holmes, '"Giorgione" Problems at Trafalgar Square, II', The Burlington Magazine, XLII/242, 1923, pp. 230-9
1942

A. Morassi, Giorgione, Milan 1942
1959

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Venetian School, London 1959
1968

V. Lilli and P. Zampetti, L'opera completa di Giorgione, Milan 1968
1969

T. Pignatti, L'opera completa di Giovanni Bellini, Milan 1969
1975

C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
1979

J. Anderson, 'A Further Inventory of Gabriel Vendramin's Collection', The Burlington Magazine, CXXI/919, 1979, pp. 639-48
1979

C. Gould, 'The Vendramin Inventory and Giorgione: A Note of Caution', The Burlington Magazine, CXXI/921, 1979, p. 801
1987

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
1990

M. Jones, P. Craddock and N. Barker, Fake?: The Art of Deception (exh. cat. British Museum, 2 September 1990), London 1990
1993

H. Himelfarb, 'Le duc Claude, collectionneur: L'énigme du Gaston de Foix attribué à Raphaël des ducs de Saint-Simon', Cahiers Saint-Simon, 21, 1993, pp. 45-60
1995

M. Lucco, Giorgione, Milan 1995
1996

H. Anderson, Giorgione, peintre de la 'brièveté poétique'. Catalogue raisonné, Paris 1996
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2007

W. Eller, Giorgione: Catalogue Raisonné: Mystery Unveiled, Petersberg 2007
2009

E.M.D. Pozzolo et al., Giorgione (exh. cat. Museo Casa Giorgione, 12 December 2009 - 11 April 2010), Milan 2009

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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Imitator of Giorgione, 'A Man in Armour', probably 17th century

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

Related works