Portrait of a gentleman in armour, Giovanni Bernardo Carbone (Genoa, 1616 – 1683) workshop

Portrait of gentleman in armor with battle scene in the background

Oil on oval canvas

This fascinating portrait depicting a knight in a proud attitude and dating back to around the middle of the 17th century, depicts the gentleman with his armour, immortalized in a night of battle, which can be recognized in the scene depicted below behind him, animated by the roar of the cannon shots.

His pose is regal, portrayed standing in three-quarters, canonical for all high-ranking hierarchical officers, in this case a general, recognizable thanks to the elegantly draped and belted sash on his arm, facing the viewer as if to recreate the sense of movement , which enlivens the composition and gives an appearance of great aristocratic dignity.

The work is to be placed within the pictorial production of the portraitist Giovanni Bernardo Carbone (Genoa, 1616 – 1683), who established himself in the flourishing seventeenth-century Genoese artistic market and successfully dedicated himself to this genre, achieving excellent results with his workshop. following the example of the famous models of Anton Van Dyck, so much so that he can be considered a follower of the Flemish artist.

The Flemish author had in fact lived in Genoa around the 1920s, becoming a point of reference for many of the city's authors, who watched and studied his style, even when he subsequently returned to his homeland.

In this regard, in relation to our portrait, we cannot fail to mention the portrait that Van Dyck made for Count Hendrik van den Bergh, belonging to one of the most illustrious families of Flanders, from which he partly takes the composition, but adapting the features to the client of the painting.

The first version of the painting is in Madrid, at the Prado Museum, while a second version (for many an excellent study replica) is kept in the French collection of the Condé musée, in Chantilly.

link:

– Madrid, Prado Museum, Spain: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/count-hendrik-van-den-bergh/f3fca328-e936-40…

– Chantilly, musée Condé, France: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/joconde/00000076602

The painting was also popularized thanks to the engraving of Paulus Pontius, who was responsible for transferring some of Van Dyck's (1599-1641) best-known paintings onto copper. https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/el-conde-hendrik-van-den-bergh/d145e871-d423-425…

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The painting is in a good state of conservation with visible color changes.

The painting is sold accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic card.

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