Detail View: The AMICA Library: Portrait of a Cardinal in his Study

AMICA ID: 
MIA_.70.17
AMICA Library Year: 
1998
Object Type: 
Paintings
Creator Name: 
Costa, Lorenzo
Creator Nationality: 
European; Southern European; Italian; Mantuan
Creator Role: 
painter
Creator Dates/Places: 
1460 - 1535
Gender: 
M
Creator Name-CRT: 
attributed to Lorenzo Costa
Title: 
Portrait of a Cardinal in his Study
View: 
Front
Creation Date: 
about 1519
Creation Start Date: 
1517
Creation End Date: 
1521
Materials and Techniques: 
oil and tempera on panel
Dimensions: 
H.32-1/4 x W.30 in.
Component Measured: 
frame dimensions
Measurement Unit: 
in
AMICA Contributor: 
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Owner Location: 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ID Number: 
70.17
Credit Line: 
The John R. Van Derlip and the William Hood Dunwoody Funds
Rights: 
Context: 

The unknown sitter in this portrait, wearing the crimson cassock and cap of a cardinal, is depicted as a humanist scholar. Through the open window can be seen the figure of Saint Jerome, the 4th-century biblical scholar, often portrayed in medieval art as a kneeling hermit. He is identified by a broad-brimmed cardinal's hat and the lion that was his legendary companion. During the Renaissance, however, Saint Jerome was frequently shown as a cultured man of learning in his study--a representation this sitter clearly wished his portrait to suggest.

The identities of both artist and sitter have long been debated. The most persuasive evidence indicates that Lorenzo Costa painted a high-ranking prelate, possibly Cardinal Bibbiena, while court painter in Mantua, a sophisticated center of humanist culture.

Acquired in 1970 70.17

Related Image Identifier Link: 
MIA_.256c.tif