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This vertical portrait shows the head, shoulders, and chest of a young man with smooth, pale skin and shoulder-length, dark blond hair positioned behind a narrow gray, stone ledge. Shown against a black background, the man tilts his head to our left and his eyes cut to our right. His left eyebrow, on our right, is slightly arched over brown eyes. He has a long, straight nose, pale pink lips, and his hair falls down the sides of his face from beneath a crimson-red, flat-topped cap. He wears a brown garment with white linen peeking through at the shoulder seams. The neck and seam down the front are lined with white, perhaps fur. He holds his right hand to his chest with his middle finger overlapping his ring finger.

Portrait of a Youth

Sandro Botticelli

This vertical portrait shows the head, shoulders, and chest of a young man with smooth, pale skin and shoulder-length, dark blond hair positioned behind a narrow gray, stone ledge. Shown against a black background, the man tilts his head to our left and his eyes cut to our right. His left eyebrow, on our right, is slightly arched over brown eyes. He has a long, straight nose, pale pink lips, and his hair falls down the sides of his face from beneath a crimson-red, flat-topped cap. He wears a brown garment with white linen peeking through at the shoulder seams. The neck and seam down the front are lined with white, perhaps fur. He holds his right hand to his chest with his middle finger overlapping his ring finger.

Details
Palette

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Medium
tempera on poplar panel
Dimensions
overall: 43.5 x 46.2 cm (17 1/8 x 18 3/16 in.) framed: 60.3 x 50.5 x 4.4 cm (23 3/4 x 19 7/8 x 1 3/4 in.)
Department
CIS-R
Holding institution
National Gallery of Art
Image provider
national-gallery-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Collection

Art Genome Taxonomy

8 tags

Subject Matter

  • Individual Portrait Both · 99%

    The title and museum record identify the work as a portrait, and the image visibly presents a single young sitter in a bust-length view.

  • Face Visual · 99%

    The face is the dominant focal area, with detailed treatment of the eyes, brows, nose, mouth, complexion, and hairline.

Styles and Movements

  • Renaissance Art Metadata · 94%

    Sandro Botticelli and the date c. 1482/1485 place the work within the Renaissance period, although the supplied museum style field is empty.

Visual Qualities

  • Dark Colors Visual · 96%

    The nearly black background and dark brown garment occupy much of the composition, producing a predominantly dark tonal field around the lighter face, hand, and cap.

Medium and Techniques

  • Painting Both · 99%

    The museum classifies the object as a painting, and the image visibly presents a painted image on a rigid support.

  • Tempera Metadata · 100%

    The National Gallery of Art records the medium as tempera on poplar panel.

Time Periods

  • 15th Century Art Metadata · 100%

    The museum dates the work to c. 1482/1485, placing it in the fifteenth century.

Materials

  • Wood Metadata · 99%

    The support is identified in the museum medium statement as poplar panel, supporting the wood material category.

Source & rights

Sandro Botticelli. Portrait of a Youth. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Catalog record ↗ Image source ↗ Image license ↗ Image-use terms ↗ Catalog metadata terms ↗

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