Portrait of Cardinal Albergati
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges. He is often considered one of the founders of Early Netherlandish painting, and, one of the most significant representatives of Northern Renaissance art.
Max Resolution:2024×2619 PX
Title:Portrait of Cardinal Albergati
Artists:Jan van Eyck
Date:1431
Style:Northern Renaissance
Genre:portrait
Medium:oil,panel,canvas
Location:Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
Dimensions:27.5×34 cm
Copyright:Public domain
The Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati is a painting by early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dating to around 1431 and currently housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria.
Niccolò Albergati was a diplomat working under Pope Martin V. During a peace congress in Antwerp, he met van Eyck, who portrayed him in a drawing in which the artist added notes on the colors in order to execute a later painting portrait. The drawing is 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, 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. 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.
Niccolò Albergati was a diplomat working under Pope Martin V. During a peace congress in Antwerp, he met van Eyck, who portrayed him in a drawing in which the artist added notes on the colors in order to execute a later painting portrait. The drawing is 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, 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. 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.