Filippo Archinto (born about 1500, died 1558), Archbishop of Milan
mid-1550s
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
46 1/2 x 37 in. (118.1 x 94 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Accession Number
14.40.650
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking portrait by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), the preeminent Venetian Renaissance master, Filippo Archinto, Archbishop of Milan (c. 1500–1558). Painted in the mid-1550s, it captures Archinto during his tenure as a key ecclesiastical figure in a city central to the Counter-Reformation. Titian, renowned for portraying Europe's elite—including emperors and popes—likely created this work during one of his late-career phases, emphasizing the sitter's dignified authority through a direct gaze and richly attired figure. Executed in oil on canvas, a medium Titian helped perfect, the painting s...