Property from a Private Collection
Francesco Salviati
Portrait of Giuliano di Leonardo Gondi (1504-1565)
Auction Closed
June 2, 05:22 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection
Francesco Salviati
Florence 1510 - 1563 Rome
Portrait of Giuliano di Leonardo Gondi (1504-1565)
inscribed by a late-sixteenth-century hand on the verso: Giuliano / di Lionardo pater/ di Giuliano avus/ di Lionardo proavus/ di Lionardo abavus/ di Simone atavus/ di Geri erat avus / di Co[z]zo de’ Ghondi / Annos natus xxxvii s[um] (or e[est])1
oil on poplar panel
panel: 17 by 13 ⅝ in.; 43.2 by 34.6 cm
framed: 23 ½ by 20 ⅜ in.; 59.7 by 51.8 cm
1 The first eight lines trace the genealogy of the sitter and the final line states his age: as either “He is thirty-eight years old” or “I am thirty-eight years old.” This depends on the final character of that line, which is abbreviated as a single sign. Earlier viewers would have automatically finished the sentence after the number with either “sum” or “est” without the need for the word to be spelled out.
Acquired in Milan by Henri (Enrico) Cernuschi (1821-1896), Milan and later Paris (as Pontormo);
Henry P. McIlhenny (1910–1986), 1914 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, by 1916;
His estate sale, New York, Christie's, 20 May 1987, lot 141 (as Circle of Francesco Salviati);
Where acquired by the present collector.
F.M. Clapp, Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo, His Life and Work, New Haven/London 1916, p. 227 (as Attributed to Pontormo);
L. Mortari, Francesco Salviati, Rome 1992, p. 164, cat. no. 205, reproduced (listed among portraits doubtfully or erroneously attributed to Salviati, on the basis of a poor black-and-white photograph);
A. Nesi, Francesco Salviati, Una conferma e una proposta, con note sulle sue due "maniere" ritrattistiche, Florence 2021, pp. 1-5, 13 note 2, reproduced figs. 4,5,7 (as Francesco Salviati).
This striking portrait by Francesco Salviati depicts the Renaissance nobleman Giuliano di Leonardo Gondi (1504–1565), a prominent member of one of Florence’s most distinguished patrician families. Presented against a luminous green ground, Giuliano turns sharply toward the viewer, his inquisitive gaze and finely modeled features conveying both intellectual vigor and psychological presence. Previously attributed to Pontormo on stylistic grounds, the portrait has more recently been recognized by Alessandro Nesi and Dr. Elizabeth Pilliod as an autograph work by Salviati, dating from the artist’s return to Florence from Rome in 1543.1
The sitter’s identity is confirmed by an old inscription on the panel's verso, which records both his name, his lineage, and his age (thirty-eight years old). Therefore, it seems likely that this portrait was executed by Salviati in Florence shortly after the artist's return there in early 1543, before the sitter’s birthday in May.
Giuliano di Leonardo Gondi was deeply involved in the turbulent political life of mid-sixteenth-century Florence. Fiercely anti-Medici in sentiment, he was implicated in the aftermath of the assassination of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici in 1537; Gondi reportedly endured torture without confession, earning himself the nickname “il Capriolo” (a small, swift European deer) because, whether out of naivety or effrontery, he demonstrated remarkable bravery. The portrait’s sober dignity and uncompromising directness seem especially suited to such a figure.
1 For Nesi's opinion, see Literature; a privately-commissioned expertise by Dr. Pilliod is available upon request.