Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
c. 1514–1515 · Oil on canvas · Musée du Louvre, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Raphael (1483–1520)
- Year
- c. 1514–1515
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 82 × 67 cm
- Collection
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Movement
- Renaissance
The diplomat and writer Baldassare Castiglione, author of The Book of the Courtier, sits turned towards the viewer against a plain warm-grey ground, in a dark doublet trimmed with squirrel fur, a white shirt at his chest, a turban under a notched black beret, his folded hands at the lower edge. Raphael and Castiglione were close friends from their years at the court of Urbino, and the portrait was painted in Rome, probably in the winter of 1514–1515. Castiglione later wrote a poem imagining his wife and son consoling themselves with the picture while he was away. It is one of the few paintings by Raphael on canvas. The portrait was studied by later painters: Titian probably saw it in Mantua, Rubens copied it, and Rembrandt sketched it when it was auctioned in Amsterdam in 1639 and drew on it for his own self-portraits. Louis XIV acquired it from the heirs of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, and it hangs in the Louvre.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A bearded man in grey fur, a black beret and a white shirt against a soft taupe ground, quiet and steady, for a study, library or hallway at 24×36 in black. A warm grey, charcoal or stone wall; it pairs with Self-Portrait at the Age of 34.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (c. 1514–1515)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
