FLORENTINE SCHOOL c.1500 (Att. to Pietro Vannucci PERUGINO (c.1445-1523)

Portrait of a Man, bust-length, in a Black Hat and Red Coat

oil on panel

tabernacle frame

17 x 12 ¼ inches, inc. frame

Painted in the 16th century at the height of the Italian Renaissance, the portrait of the Italian gentleman comes from the studio of Pietro Perugino, a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and tutor to his most famous pupil Raphael. It was a studio that was one the first to see the development of painting in oil, and at five hundred years old, the portrait is without embellishment. "There's less ego in a panel portrait" says Mr Daniel Hunt, softly and with a diffident smile, director of the gallery which sits just off London's Sloane Square. His comment explaining quite simply and elegantly the "human-ness" and relatable quality evident in the painting.

Perugino had a monumental impact on the development of the Renaissance. His contemporaries called him a ‘Divine’ Painter, and Raphael’s father deemed Perugino and Leonardo da Vinci to be the masters of the age. The artist obtained commissions from the most elite patrons of the day, including several Popes, the Doge in Venice, Lorenzo de’ Medici, Ludovico Sforza, and Isabella d’Este, and trained Raphael in his studio.

Pietro Vannucci, later known as Perugino, was born in Città della Pieve, located near Perugia, Italy, around 1450. He studied in Perugia, the cultural capital of the region, from a young age.

After this initial training, he went to Florence to study alongside Leonardo da Vinci in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. Within a few years, Perugino acquired several important commissions in Perugia, followed by some work for the Pope in Old Saint Peter’s in Rome.

Perugino was subsequently commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to lead a group of artists in decorating the walls of the Sistine Chapel.