Possibly by Girolamo da Carpi, 'Marco Bracci with Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici', about 1533

Marco Bracci with Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici

Possibly by Girolamo da Carpi

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This painting looks as though it has been composed from two separate portraits. The figure in the red and white dress of a cardinal points to the signature on the parchment in front of him, ‘Hyppol[itus] me[dicis] Vice cancel[arius]’, which identifies him as Cardinal Ippolito de‘ Medici, vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. The man in black holds his cap respectfully in one hand and a portable inkwell (with pen case attached) in the other. This rests on the same piece of parchment, near another signature which reads ’M de Bracijs‘, for Marco Bracci.

The painting was probably designed to record Bracci’s importance and to show how, as chancery official, he attended Ippolito de’ Medici in person. It is likely that Bracci commissioned the picture given his prominence and that the Cardinal is not painted from life, but copied from a portrait by Titian of 1532–3 (now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence).

In-depth

This painting looks as if it has been composed from two separate portraits. The figure in the red and white dress of a cardinal points to the signature on the parchment in front of him, ‘Hyppol[itus] me[dicis] Vice cancel[arius]’, which identifies him as Cardinal Ippolito de‘ Medici, vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. The man in black holds his cap in one hand and a portable inkwell (with pen case attached) with the other. This rests on the same piece of parchment, near another signature that reads ’M de Bracijs‘, for Marco Bracci.

Other than the names, the main part of the document (a papal bull, or decree) is illegible, suggesting that the portrait does not commemorate a specific event. Rich green drapery hangs behind the cardinal and there is a slightly open panelled door behind Marco Bracci. The table is covered with a type of Turkish carpet similar to those found in contemporary paintings by Lotto or Holbein.

Marco Bracci is mentioned as chierico di camera (’clerk of the apostolic chamber‘) in a chronicle of Pope Clement VII’s visit to Bologna in 1529–30 for the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. It is likely that Bracci commissioned the picture given his prominence and that the Cardinal is not painted from life, but copied from a portrait of him by Titian of 1532–3 (now Palazzo Pitti, Florence). The painting was probably designed to record Bracci’s importance and to show how, as chancery official, he attended Ippolito de’ Medici in person. Although Bracci has respectfully removed his cap, he is standing in front of the Cardinal and appears the dominant figure.

Ippolito de‘ Medici was born in 1511 in Urbino, the illegitimate son of Giuliano de’ Medici and Pacifica Brandani. After his father’s death in 1516, Ippolito was brought up in Rome in the household of his uncle, Pope Leo X. From 1524 to 1527 he and his cousin Alessandro de‘ Medici and Cardinal Silvio Passerini ruled Florence on behalf of his cousin, Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici). Cardinal Ippolito de‘ Medici was a patron of writers, scholars and artists, including Titian and Sebastiano del Piombo. He was made vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church in 1532. He also pursued a military career, campaigning against the Turks in Hungary in 1532. He died on 10 August 1535 on his way to Naples, probably of poisoning.

Marco Bracci was born in Florence, probably in the 1490s, to a family of merchants closely associated with the ruling Medici family. After the election of Leo X as pope, Marco moved to Rome, where he stayed until his death in 1551. He obtained many ecclesiastical appointments, serving four popes. At Charles V’s coronation ceremony in Bologna, Bracci presented him with the hat and sword that had been blessed by Pope Clement VII. Bracci was a friend of the writer Pietro Aretino, who described him as ’a joy to his friends, and the very best of fellows‘.

Girolamo da Carpi was in Bologna at the time of the coronation ceremony, and it is possible that this portrait is by him. It probably dates from after Titian’s portrait of Ippolito de’ Medici was painted in 1532–3, and after Ippolito was made vice-chancellor.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Marco Bracci with Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici
Artist: Possibly by Girolamo da Carpi
Artist dates: 1501 - 1556
Date made: about 1533
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 138.4 × 111.8 cm
Acquisition credit: Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831
Inventory number: NG20
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Revd William Holwell Carr

Alexander Day

Provenance

In the Borghese collection by about 1650 (and probably several decades earlier) until at least 1797. Bought by Alexander Day before 1816, by whom sold to Revd William Holwell Carr before 1819. Bequeathed to the National Gallery in 1831.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Giorgia Mancini and Nicholas Penny, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 3, ‘Bologna and Ferrara’, London 2016; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Bibliography

1905

E. Beck, 'Ecclesiastical Dress in Art, V', The Burlington Magazine, VIII/33, 1905, pp. 197-202
1906

E. Beck, 'Ecclesiastical Dress in Art, VI (Conclusion)', The Burlington Magazine, VIII/34, 1906, pp. 271-81
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
1914

O. Sirén (ed.), Nicodemus Tessin d.y:s: Studieresor i Danmark, Tyskland, Holland, Frankrike och Italien: Anteckningar, bref och ritningar, Stockholm 1914
1924

H. Voss, 'Girolamo da Carpi als Bildnismaler', Städel-Jahrbuch, III-IV, 1924, pp. 97-106
1962

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
1962

C. Gould, 'New Evidence on a Problem Picture', The Burlington Magazine, CIV/708, 1962, pp. 116-8
1964

P. Della Pergola, 'L'Inventario Borghese del 1693, I', Arte antica e moderna, XXVI, 1964, pp. 219-30
1965

E.H. Ramsden, 'Further Evidence on a Problem Picture', The Burlington Magazine, CVII/745, 1965, pp. 185-92
1966

C. Gould, 'Lorenzo Lotto and the Double Portrait: Transformation of Delia Torre Picture', Saggi et memorie di storia dell'arte, V, 1966, pp. 43-51
1968

'Letters: A Problem Picture', The Burlington Magazine, CX/782, 1968, pp. 277-8
1975

C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
1977

A. Mezzetti, Girolamo da Ferrara detto da Carpi. L'opera pittorica, Ferrara 1977
1980

M. Lucco, L'opera completa di Sebastiano del Piombo, Milan 1980
1983

E.H. Ramsden, Come, Take This Lute: A Quest for Identities in Italian Renaissance Portraiture, Salisbury 1983
1983

J. Mills, Carpets in Paintings (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 1 June - 24 July 1983), London 1983
1986

V.F. Pietrantonio, Pittura bolognese del'500, Bologna 1986
1987

Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
1995

V.F. Pietrantonio, La pittura in Emilia e in Romagna. Tomo primo: Il Cinquecento, Milan 1995
2001

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

A. Brookes, 'Richard Symonds's Account of His Visit to Rome in 1649-1651', The Walpole Society, LXIX, 2007, pp. 1-183
2016

Mancini, Giorgia, and Nicholas Penny, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, 3, Bologna and Ferrara, London 2016

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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