Annibale Carracci, 1560 Bologna – 1609 Rom

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN Oil on canvas. 36.5 x 26.5 cm. Black stencil number "No. 22" on the stretcher. Accompanied by an expertise by Alessandro Delpriori, Matelica, in copy. The sitter with black hair, lip and chin beard, white shirt collar over a black doublet, his gaze directed vividly at the viewer, the background completely darkened. Comparative examples of other head portraits, as listed in the accompanying expertise, clearly demonstrate Carracci's authorship. These include, among other examples, the half-length portrait of the composer "Giovanni Gabrieli" with lute in the Staatliche Gemäldegalerie in Dresden, the "Head Portrait of a Boy" in Parma and the "Ritratto di Giovane" in the Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Barberini in Rome. We should also not forget Annibale's self-portrait from 1593, which is in the National Gallery in Parma. The influence of Venetian painting, particularly that of Tintoretto, which is noticeable in Annibale's work from 1590 onwards, is also evident in this portrait. Together with his cousins Ludovico and Agostino, Annibale founded the Accademia degli Incamminati. Its aim was to adopt the characteristics of Mannerism in favor of greater naturalness, which ultimately helped usher in Baroque painting. Annibale is considered the most important of these three painters. The accompanying expertise places the creation of the portrait in the period around 1600. (14008916) (11)