Portrait of a Man
Medium
Tempera on wood
Dimensions
21 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (54.6 x 44.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Accession Number
32.100.67
Tags
Art Historical Context
Domenico Ghirlandaio, a leading Florentine painter of the late 15th century, masterfully captured the essence of Renaissance portraiture in *Portrait of a Man*. Active during the height of the Italian Renaissance (c. 1449–1494), Ghirlandaio was renowned for his fresco cycles in churches like Santa Maria Novella and as the teacher of a young Michelangelo. His portraits, like this one, exemplify the era's humanist focus on individual likeness and dignity, often depicting merchants, scholars, or nobles who commissioned them to affirm their status. Painted in tempera on wood—a meticulous egg-base...