Luciano Borzone

Relined and under a very dirty varnish. the paint surface has been generally well preserved and there is nice impasto in most of the figure (only the areas of his lower beard and neck are a bit pressed and thin). there are some old discolored retouches visible along the right and left edges and some small losses to top of hair and one in background to right of his head. under ultraviolet: it is difficult to see anything through the old varnish. this painting would benefit from a light cleaning and re-addressing of the old, discolored retouches. In a carved and gilt woo frame.
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Luciano Borzone is considered to be one of the principal artists of the golden age of Genoese painting, which lasted from the 1550s until circa 1650, about five years after Borzone's death.  Like his contemporary, Bernardo Strozzi, Borzone trained in the studio of the painter, antiquarian, and dealer of Venetian art, Cesare Corte (1550–1613/14).  Through Corte, Borzone may have been exposed to the work of Titian, Veronese and the Bassani, whose broad, free brushstrokes and naturalism Borzone adeptly absorbed into his own style.  Borzone was also influenced by the realism of Caravaggio and the theatricality and movement of the Milanese artist, Giulio Cesare Procaccini.  Borzone's first patron was the influential collector Prince Gian Carlo Doria (1576-1625).  Doria, also a major supporter of Procaccini, brought Borzone to Milan in 1615 as his artistic advisor.

We are grateful to Dr. Mary Newcome-Schleier for proposing the attribution to Luciano Borzone based on photographs.