Terms and conditions of use
Portrait of an old man
(c. 1600)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
94.2 × 73.6 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Bequest of Howard Spensley, 1939
Gallery location
16th & 17th Century Gallery - Painting and Sculpture
Mezzanine linked to Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Palma il Giovane came from a distinguished family of Venetian painters, and was known colloquially as ‘Il Giovane’ (the younger) to distinguish him from his celebrated great-uncle Jacopo Palma il Vecchio (the elder). After a period of study in Rome, Palma returned to Venice, where he was celebrated for his contribution to the painterly traditions of Titian and Tintoretto. Palma, however, invested a greater degree of naturalism in his figures than either Titian or Tintoretto did, and steered Venetian art towards a more realist Baroque tradition. In this study, Palma does not idealise his elderly sitter, but rather conveys a reverence for the visible signs of old age and aging.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
554-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Portraits
Subjects (specific)
beards elderly half figures hands (animal components) men (male humans) three-quarter views
Provenance
Probably Sotheby's, London, before 1935 R.E.A. Wilson (dealer and restorer), London, 1935 sold to Howard Spensley (c. 1870–1938), London and Bedfordshire, England, 1935 collection of Howard Spensley, until 1938 by whom bequeathed to the NGV, 1939.