_A Portrait of a Young Man _
By: S. Sauri
A Portrait of a Young Man. 2 Portrait of a Young Man was painted by Angolo
Bronzino between the years of 1503-1572. The portrait is 37 5/8 by 29 ½ inches
and is an oil on wood( Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999). I picked this
painting because of the self assurance, at first glance, of the young man that
is depicted. This appealed to me because it reflected my own attitude. After
studying the portrait for a considerable amount of time I began to see
possible sadness or self-doubt in the young mans face that betrays his
powerful stance. I felt a connection to the young man, knowing all too well
what it was like to present a powerful outside image while knowing there was a
self conscious and scared person insideThe main image of the portrait is
the young man. He is wearing a long black jacket, in the style of the
sixteenth century, with part of a white ruffled collar and cuffs peeking out
of his jacket. He is also wearing a black and what appears to be a beaded
beret. He has a light complexion. His oval shaped face contains an oval shaped
dark eyes with light, rounded eyebrows. He has an elongated nose with an
indentation underneath it. He has peach colored lips and a clefted chin. He is
slightly turned towards the viewer. His left hand is resting on his waist, the
fingers are spread apart except for his middle and ring fingers, they're close
together and his right hand is holding a poetry book ( Metropolitan Museum of
Art, 1999 ) with his index finger between the pages. Under his left arm there
is the arm of a brown chair with a monsters face and supporting his right arm
is an ornate, plum colored table with another monsters An Artistic Evaluation
1 An Artistic Evaluation: Portrait Of A Young Man Samantha Sauri Prof.
Vrachopoulos Art 101 February, 28, 1999 3 head worked into the side. According
to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the monster heads that are found on the
furniture and on the folds of the young mans clothing, which I was unable to
locate, allude to literary references that would have been appreciated by the
artist's friends. In the background there is a green colored room, that
includes a door frame, a Doric column and a capital
Portrait of a Young Man
was painted during the Mannerism period. It was done by Bronzino in Italy
c.1540. The portrait is 37 5/8 by 29 ½ inches, it's vertical because it's a
portrait. The frame cuts the shapes in the painting, this was done purposely
in the typical Mannerism style which usually crowded the pictorial area . The
painting is supported by wood, opaque oil paints were applied thickly with a
fine brush, I was unable to see any distinct brush strokes. The forms are flat
except for the beads on the young man's hat which seem to raise off the
painting
The portrait contains a simple organization. There are few
individual units like the chair and table but the picture is crowded. The
shapes are regular and complete with clear defining lines. The painting is
geometrically ordered, the chair and table appear to support and reinforce the
pose of the young man.The palette the artist used is subdued, plain and
limited in contrast to the Mannerists usual conflicting, bright colors. The
two dominant colors are black and green. These colors fall into the neutral
and cool section of the color spectrum. The light source is subtle and outside
the picture but the portrait contains no shadowing. The space is shallow and
screened, the perspective is linear 4 causing the young man to be not only
the emphasis but to appear close to the observer. The young man is stationary,
aloof and is shown from the mid-thigh up. He is dressed in formal tight
clothing that gives no indication of whom he is or where he is from. It is
possible that the portrait is a cabinet picture which would account for the
somber mood of the portrait. I felt a connection and an understanding with the
painting. The young man is supposed to relay a certain image, the image of
power and self assurance but it gave an aura of apprehension. It appealed to
the humane and knowledgeable aspect of my soul. The evaluation helped me to
understand how art conveys images and feelings and how to identify them. I
previously didn't know how to detect these aspects of art, I admired paintings
for their esthetic value but not their spiritual value. This project helped me
appreciate that.
Word Count: 777
