Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami (Raphael)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami

Raphael, 1515-1516

Oil on wood

91 × 61 cm

Palazzo Pitti, Florence

The Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael, c. 1515-1516.

This portrait shows the eminent man of letters and librarian of Pope Leo X, born in Volterra in 1470, with an absorbed expression, in the act of writing. It is assumed that Inghirami worked with Raphael on the program of the Stanza della Segnatura. Inghirami became praefect of Vatican Library under Julius II. The portrait is an exceptional work for its fullness of vision and vibrant colours, without being excessively grandiose or dramatic.

There are two extant versions, one in Boston, the other in Palazzo Pitti. Each has been considered the original at one time or another, but the dispute is useless, since both are highly coherent and the differences between them are slight: the physical structure of the Cardinal is more massive in the Boston portrait and leaner in the Pitti one. It is accepted by some experts that both versions are the work of Raphael, the Boston version being the earlier 1512-1514.

The red of the Cardinal's clothing dominates both. Inghirami's crossed eyes, a physical defect which the artist does not leave out, acquire a discreet tone which almost dissolves in the inspired pose of the figure. Without idealizing, but also without falling into unpleasant naturalism, Raphael maintains a harmonic equilibrium between realism and dignified celebration, a primary characteristic of portrait painting.

The picture was part of the collection of Cardinal Leopoldo de Medici. It was stolen by the French in 1799 and brought back to its current seat in 1816.

v • d • e Raphael Early Works The Kinnaird Resurrection • Baronci altarpiece • Holy Family with Madonna of the Veil • St. Sebastian • Oddi Altar • Solly Madonna • Mond Crucifixion • Three Graces • St. Michael • Portrait of a Man • Connestabile Madonna • Madonna and Child • The Marriage of the Virgin • Vision of a Knight • St. George • Colonna Altarpiece • Portrait of Perugino Florentine period Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga • Self-portrait • Madonna of the Grand Duke • Ansidei Madonna • Young Man with an Apple • Christ Blessing • Madonna Terranova • Madonna of the Goldfinch • Madonna of the Meadow • Esterhazy Madonna • St. George and the Dragon • La Donna Gravida • Portrait of Agnolo Doni • Portrait of Maddalena Doni • Madonna of the Pinks • Young Woman with Unicorn  • Madonna with Beardless St. Joseph • Saint Catherine of Alexandria • Canigiani Holy Family • La belle jardinière • Deposition of Christ • The Three Theological Virtues • Portrait of a Young Woman • Tempi Madonna • Madonna Colonna • Madonna de Bogota Roman period Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese • La disputa • The School of Athens • Madonna of Loreto • Aldobrandini Madonna • Madonna with the Blue Diadem • Alba Madonna • The Parnassus • The Cardinal Virtues • The Prophet Isaiah • The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple • Portrait of Pope Julius II • Madonna of Foligno • Triumph of Galatea • Sistine Madonna • Madonna della seggiola • Madonna dell'Impannata • Madonna della tenda • The Fire in the Borgo • The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila • Deliverance of Saint Peter • Portrait of Bindo Altoviti • The Sibyls • The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia • Portrait of Balthasar Castiglione • La Donna Velata • Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami • Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila in Borgo • Portrait of Andrea Navagero and Agostino Beazzano • Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena • Double Portrait • Church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici • Creation of the World • Transfiguration • Portrait of Pope Leo X with two Cardinals • Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary • The Holy Family of Francis I • Ezechiel's Vision • St. Michael Vanquishing Satan  • Madonna of the Rose • Self-portrait with a Friend • La fornarina • Visitation