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The Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati is a painting by early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dating to around 1431 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria. Niccolò Albergati was traditionally identified as the subject of the portrait, but modern scholarship suggests that Henry Beaufort is more likely to be its subject.[1][2] If the portrait is of Henry Beaufort, it would be the earliest realistic portrait of an Englishman.[2] Other scholars maintain it does not depict a cardinal at all.[3]
| Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Jan van Eyck |
| Year | c. 1431 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Subject | Possibly Niccolò Albergati or Henry Beaufort |
| Dimensions | 34 cm × 27.5 cm (13 in × 10.8 in) |
| Location | Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
The portrait was based on a drawing, now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany.
The cardinal is portrayed from three-quarters, as was usual in Flemish painting since as early as the 1430s,[citation needed] on a dark background which enhances the figure, which is instead subject to a bright light source. As common in van Eyck's work, attention to detail is maximum, thanks to his technique using successive layers of colors diluted with oil, which allowed him deep effects of transparency and lucidity.[citation needed] Comparison with the preparatory drawing shows that van Eyck changed several realistic details, such as the depth of the shoulders, the lower curve of the nose, the depth of the mouth and mainly the size of the ear, perhaps to strengthen the impression of seniority and, consequently, of authority of the cardinal.[original research?]
References edit
- ^ Vale, Malcolm (1990). "Cardinal Henry Beaufort and the 'Albergati' Portrait". The English Historical Review. 105 (415): 337–354. doi:10.1093/ehr/CV.CCCCXV.337. ISSN 0013-8266. JSTOR 570845.
- ^ a b Harriss, G. L. (2004). "Beaufort, Henry [called the Cardinal of England]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/1859. Retrieved 13 July 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Hunter, John (1993). "Who Is Jan van Eyck's "Cardinal Nicolo Albergati"?". The Art Bulletin. 75 (2): 207–218. doi:10.2307/3045945. JSTOR 3045945.
Further reading edit
- Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. ISBN 0-8709-9870-6
- Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck. London: Taschen, 2008. ISBN 3-8228-5687-8
- Conway, Martin. "A Head of Christ by John van Eyck". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Volume 39, No. 225, December 1921
- Harbison, Craig. Jan van Eyck, The Play of Realism. London: Reaktion Books, 1991. ISBN 0-948462-18-3
- Otto Pächt. Van Eyck and the Founders of Early Netherlandish Painting. Harvey Miller, New York, 2000
- Schneider, Norbert. Jan van Eyck, the altar of Ghent: proposals for a reform of the church (in Spanish). 21st Century, 1997. ISBN 978-96823-2075-0