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Lot Essay
This meticulously observed portrait of a man, with a ring suspended from a chain around his neck, is unique in Parmigianino’s oeuvre as the only known work by the artist to have been painted on copper. It is almost certainly identifiable as the portrait listed in the inventory of the Parmesan nobleman, Cavaliere Francesco Baiardo (1486-1561; Ekserdjian, 2006, op. cit.). Compiled with fastidious accuracy, Baiardo’s inventory lists over five hundred drawings by Parmigianino and his collection included a number of paintings by the artist, such as his Pallas Athene, now in the Royal Collection, London (RCIN 405765); the Saturn and Philyra, in a private collection (sold Christie’s, London, 8 July 2021, lot 40); and his iconic, bow-carving Cupid, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 275).
Listed as number 41 in Baiardo’s inventory is ‘Un ritratto sopra il rame colorito finito alto 0.6 largo .4 di man dil Parmesanino’ (fig. 1; ‘A colored portrait on copper, finished, 0.6 high 4 wide by the hand of Parmigianino’). All measurements in the inventory are rounded to the nearest Parmesan inch, which equated to approximately 4.5 cm. Baiardo’s portrait on copper measured 6 by 4 Parmesan inches, the equivalent of around 27 by 18 cm., corresponding almost exactly with the present painting, which measures 24.5 by 18.4 cm. While painting on copper was unusual in Italy in the early sixteenth century, it was not unheard of. As David Ekserdjian notes, the present portrait, alongside experimentations in the medium by Correggio and Lelio Orsi of the same moment, would have been the very earliest Italian examples (op. cit., p. 150).
Francesco Baiardo was a patron and friend of Parmigianino. In 1539, the artist was arrested and imprisoned, having breached his contract and failed to complete his decorations for the church of Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma. Baiardo, along with the architect Damiano de Pleta, provided the bail to secure Parmigianino’s release, but the artist forfeited the bond and fled to Casalmaggiore, far from Parmesan jurisdiction. It was there, a year later, that he died of a fever at the age of just thirty-seven. It is assumed that Baiardo must have acquired extensive property from Parmigianino’s studio in compensation for the forfeited bail money, hence the vast number of the artist’s works in his possession.
Stylistically, Ekserdjian associates this portrait with Parmigianino’s Bearded man with a book, painted on panel and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 329). The museum dates the latter portrait to around 1525-26, though Ekserdjian considers it to have likely been painted during the artist’s time in Bologna, where he was working from 1527 to 1530. As in the Vienna portrait, the attitude of the sitter in the present painting is similarly melancholic. While the identity of the bearded man here is unknown, his likeness and temperament are captured with Parmigianino’s typical sensibility and acute observation. He is somewhat enigmatic, averting his gaze and appearing slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the artist. The prominent inclusion of the ring, hanging from a fine, elaborate chain around his neck, suggests it must have been a treasured object, perhaps a keepsake from a loved one (op. cit.).
Listed as number 41 in Baiardo’s inventory is ‘Un ritratto sopra il rame colorito finito alto 0.6 largo .4 di man dil Parmesanino’ (fig. 1; ‘A colored portrait on copper, finished, 0.6 high 4 wide by the hand of Parmigianino’). All measurements in the inventory are rounded to the nearest Parmesan inch, which equated to approximately 4.5 cm. Baiardo’s portrait on copper measured 6 by 4 Parmesan inches, the equivalent of around 27 by 18 cm., corresponding almost exactly with the present painting, which measures 24.5 by 18.4 cm. While painting on copper was unusual in Italy in the early sixteenth century, it was not unheard of. As David Ekserdjian notes, the present portrait, alongside experimentations in the medium by Correggio and Lelio Orsi of the same moment, would have been the very earliest Italian examples (op. cit., p. 150).
Francesco Baiardo was a patron and friend of Parmigianino. In 1539, the artist was arrested and imprisoned, having breached his contract and failed to complete his decorations for the church of Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma. Baiardo, along with the architect Damiano de Pleta, provided the bail to secure Parmigianino’s release, but the artist forfeited the bond and fled to Casalmaggiore, far from Parmesan jurisdiction. It was there, a year later, that he died of a fever at the age of just thirty-seven. It is assumed that Baiardo must have acquired extensive property from Parmigianino’s studio in compensation for the forfeited bail money, hence the vast number of the artist’s works in his possession.
Stylistically, Ekserdjian associates this portrait with Parmigianino’s Bearded man with a book, painted on panel and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. 329). The museum dates the latter portrait to around 1525-26, though Ekserdjian considers it to have likely been painted during the artist’s time in Bologna, where he was working from 1527 to 1530. As in the Vienna portrait, the attitude of the sitter in the present painting is similarly melancholic. While the identity of the bearded man here is unknown, his likeness and temperament are captured with Parmigianino’s typical sensibility and acute observation. He is somewhat enigmatic, averting his gaze and appearing slightly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the artist. The prominent inclusion of the ring, hanging from a fine, elaborate chain around his neck, suggests it must have been a treasured object, perhaps a keepsake from a loved one (op. cit.).