Portrait of a Man, Possibly Girolamo Rosati
The gesture of the elegantly dressed man is a mystery. Is he rising from his chair to address someone or is he pointing to something outside the frame? His right hand rests on a piece of paper (a letter?), while on the table are clover—a symbol of abundance, good fortune, and happy marriage—and jasmine, associated with purity and love, further emphasized by the roses on the trellis. There may have been a companion portrait of the sitter’s bride, to whom he acknowledges his devotion. Another recent interpretation identifies the sitter as Girolamo Rosati, a high official in Fermo, on Italy’s east coast. The paper may be a design for one of his important architectural projects, to which he may be pointing in the distance. The interrupted moment is a naturalistic touch characteristic of Lotto, quite distinct from the formality of the other Italian Renaissance portraits in the museum's collection. Though this portrait clearly articulates the man’s status, Lotto emphasizes his individuality and interiority as much as a socially constructed identity.
Colors in this work
Details
- Date
- 1533–34
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- framed: height 1.359 m, width 1.28 m, depth 0.086 m; unframed: height 1.082 m, width 1.005 m
- Origin
- Italy
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Gift of the Hanna Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
8 tags
Subject Matter
-
Individual Portrait Both · 99%
A single male sitter dominates the composition, and the museum title identifies the work as a portrait of a man.
-
Implied Narrative Both · 93%
The sitter’s raised arm and outward-directed hand suggest an action or exchange continuing beyond the picture; the museum description explicitly characterizes the moment as interrupted and mysterious.
-
Landscapes Visual · 91%
A clearly rendered distant blue-green landscape and broad sky appear behind the stone balustrade.
-
Flora Both · 94%
Loose green sprigs and small flowers are visibly arranged on the table, while the museum description specifically identifies clover, jasmine, and roses in the composition.
Medium and Techniques
-
Painting Both · 99%
The museum classifies the work as a painting, and the image visibly shows a painted composition with modeled figures, textiles, architecture, and landscape.
-
Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The museum specifies the medium as oil on canvas.
Time Periods
-
16th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The museum dates the work to 1533–34, placing it in the sixteenth century.
Geographic Regions
-
Italian Art Metadata · 99%
The artist is identified as Italian and the place of origin is listed as Italy.
Source & rights
Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, 1480–1556). Portrait of a Man, Possibly Girolamo Rosati. Cleveland Museum of Art.
High-resolution sources
- Original TIFF ↗ 4,838 × 5,239 · Cleveland Museum Of Art · Available