Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo
- Artist: Titian
- Date: about 1510
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo by Titian. This is one of Titian's earliest portraits, painted in the Venetian style. The sitter turns to look at us over his shoulder and momentarily meets our gaze. Our attention is focused on the raised brow above his right eye, which is positioned midway across the picture.
The man's elbow rests on a parapet and his voluminous quilted sleeve projects into our space, creating a strong sense of his physical presence. The way in which the shadowed portions of the figure merge with the grey atmospheric background was particularly innovative. This pose was to become highly influential in European portraiture.
The painting is believed to be a portrait of Gerolamo di Andrea Barbarigo, a member of the aristocratic Venetian Barbarigo family. Titian was no more than 18 years old when he painted this portrait, and it's likely that he was commissioned by the sitter himself or through his connections with the humanist circles in Venice.
The painting is dated around 1510, and it's one of the earliest examples of Titian's work. The use of oil on canvas gives the painting a sense of depth and volume, and the intricate details of the quilted sleeve are still visible despite some surface abrasion over time.
See it in person
Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
