Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2019

Images(2)

Portrait of a Man (Francesco Bollani)

ArtistAttributed to Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino) (Italian, 1591 - 1666)

CultureItalian

Date17th century

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 40 x 32 1/2 in. (101.6 x 82.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number55.38.1

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 204

DescriptionOil on canvas painting; depicts a man seated wearing a coat with large fur collar and glove on left hand and holding a manuscript in the right.

Label TextAttributed to Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Guercino) Italian, 1591–1666 Portrait of a Man (Francesco Bollani) Oil on canvas The man in this portrait wears the fur stole of a scholar and turns to greet us. His identity remained unknown until recently. While restoring the work, researchers deciphered the address on the letter the man is holding. It identifies him as Francesco Bollani of Venice. He was a man of letters and a member of an illustrious family with a Palazzo on the Rio di Santa Giustina, today a center for the arts. Although the letter had faded from wear, the name stood out sharply under ultraviolet light. The sender’s name, however, still remains a mystery. Museum purchase 55.38.1 ProvenancePurchased from Eugene L. Garbaty by the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, October 1955.Exhibition HistoryExhibited in Wiesbaden Germany, 1935, "Italian Painting 17th and 18th Centuries", #103; "Master Pieces of Art", New York World's Fair, 1940, #30 (reproduced); "Italian Baroque Painting of the 17th and 18th Centuries", Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, #57, 1941; New School for Social Research, New York, Loan Exhibition of Paintings, #4, 1946; "Exhibition of Italian Paintings of the 17th Century", Allen Memorial Museum, Oberlin, #8, 1952; "Paintings by Old Masters from Berlin Collections", Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin Friends at Academy of Arts, 1925. Published ReferencesPublished in the VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 11/28/55 and 4/19/59 ("Museum Piece of the Week"); Museum BULLETIN, Vol. 10, March 3, 1960; also mentioned in Vol. 30 of "Annual of the Kingly Prussian Art Collections" by Privy Councillor, M.I. Friedlaender, reproduced in Kunstspiegal, Berliner Tageblatt, 8/25/25.