Portrait of an Engraver of Semi-Precious Stones
Pontormo, 1517
Pontormo painted this portrait around 1517–1518 on a poplar panel, and it is now in the Louvre. Louis XIV acquired it in 1671 from the dealer Everhard Jabach. The sitter wears a hat and holds a burin, while a piece of metal rests on the table, ready to be set with gems. These objects are the basis for identifying him as a jeweler, although that identification remains uncertain. His name is unknown; earlier proposals naming Giovanni delle Corniole, Michele di Paolo Poggini or Domenico di Polo have been ruled out. The style stays close to that of the artist's master, Andrea del Sarto, and the work is probably among the earliest surviving portraits by Pontormo. It therefore offers a useful glimpse of his beginnings, before he developed the more personal manner for which he is remembered.
- Painter
- Pontormo
- Date
- 1517
- Medium
- oil paint, poplar panel
- Dimensions
- 70 × 53 cm
- Museum
- Louvre Museum, Paris
- Genre
- portrait
- Depicts
- hat, man
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