GERVASIO GATTI | PORTRAIT OF A BOY IN STRIPED DOUBLET AND WHITE RUFF, HIS LEFT ARM ON HIS HIP AND RIGHT RESTING ON A TABLE WITH AN OPEN BOOK, HALF-LENGTH

Private collection;

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 December 2011, lot 119;

Where acquired.

L'Arte delle Donne dal Rinascimento al Surrealismo, exhibition catalogue, Milan 2007, no cat. no., reproduced frontispiece (as by Sofonisba Anguissola).

This lovely portrait of a young boy was previously exhibited as the work of Sofonisba Anguissola, who was a contemporary of Gervasio Gatti and trained with him in the workshop of his uncle, Bernardino Gatti, known as Sojaro. Gervasio worked alongside his uncle on commissions for the Farnese court in Parma. His portraits are notable for the porcelain texture of the faces, the attention to fine details in costume and armor, and the stately poses and expressions, all of which combine here for an impressive image that belies the sitter's young age.