Possibly by Bernardino Loschi, 'A Young Man with the 'Aeneid' (Alberto III Pio?)', 1512
About the work
Overview
The sitter’s doublet is inscribed on the neckline: ALBERTVS. PIVS CARP [...] + MDXII (‘Alberto Pio from Carpi 1512’). Alberto Pio was recognised as the legitimate ruler of Carpi, near the Italian town of Modena, in 1512 – but by then he was 37, older than he appears here. The knotted decorations on his clothing have a heraldic character and are associated with the Savoia family, with which the Pio family were connected.
The lines in the open book are a famous passage of Book VI of Virgil’s Aeneid: the dead Anchises explains the transmigration of souls – in which a soul passes from one body to another after death – to his son, Aeneas, who has visited him in the underworld. The scene in the background showing the twin peaks of the sacred mountain Parnassus is probably related to the text, although it is not clear how.
Alberto Pio was ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. The coat in the painting may be an ambassadorial gown, perhaps one of German style.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Young Man with the 'Aeneid' (Alberto III Pio?)
- Artist
- Possibly by Bernardino Loschi
- Artist dates
- about 1460 - 1540
- Date made
- 1512
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 58.4 × 49.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Mond Bequest, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG3940
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
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.