Parmigianino (1503-1540)
Ritratto di un dignitario (Portrait of a dignitary)
c.1535
Oil on poplar, 117.5 × 97.7 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
The grandiose portrayal of the menacingly close man with his head turned to the side oscillates between violence and passivity, between tension and melancholy. In the past, the massive figure was identified with Malatesta Baglione (1491–1531), the famous military commander in the service of the Republic of Florence. He had played a shady role in the defense of the city in 1530 and was then accused of treason. (KHM)