| Man with a Glove | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Artist | Titian |
| Year | c. 1520[1] |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 100 cm × 89 cm (39 in × 35 in) |
| Location | Musée du Louvre,Paris |
Man with a Glove (French:L'Homme au Gant) is an oil-on-canvas portrait by theItalian Renaissance artistTitian, paintedc. 1520.[1] It is part of the collections of theMusée du Louvre, Paris.[2]
The work originates from theGonzaga family's collection atMantua. It was acquired byCharles I of England in 1627. Sometime after his beheading in 1649, the painting was auctioned and bought by theCologne bankerEberhard Jabach. Eventually, it came in the possession ofLouis XIV of France, and was transferred from thePalace of Versailles to the Louvre in 1792.
The figure has not been identified with certainty. He could be Girolamo Adorno, mentioned in a 1527 letter fromPietro Aretino toFederico Gonzaga, or Giambattista Malatesta, an agent of the Gonzaga inVenice. According to another hypothesis, he could beFerrante Gonzaga, who was sixteen years old in 1523.
The painting portrays a three-quarters view of a male figure set against a flat black background. He appears to be looking at an indefinite point to the left of the canvas, with his left arm laid on his knee. He could be pointing at his gloves, which were a fashion statement at the time. He is dressed in a wide jacket and a white shirt, in the fashion of the period.
The man's gloved left hand holds a second leather glove; an accessory used by the most refined gentlemen of the time. His right hand is adorned with a golden ring, a symbol of richness, and a necklace decorated with a sapphire and a pearl. The use of aparapet in portraits was a common device of the young Titian.
InHenry James's 1903 bookThe Ambassadors, Maria Gostrey is introduced by Strether to Little Bilham, in front of the "overwhelming portrait of the young man with the strangely-shaped glove and the blue-grey eyes" in the Louvre.[3]
InJohn P. Marquand's 1936 bookThe Late George Apley, the fictional protagonist George Apley is painted by John Singer Sargent. The portrait is remarked to exhibit a character of a refined gentleman similar to the one in this Titian portrait.[4]
InFred Saberhagen'sBerserker series in the short storyPatron of the Arts (first appeared in Worlds of If, Aug 1965), a human artist and a Berserker machine discuss the value of art and of this specific painting on a starship in the future after a space battle near the Sol system. In this short story, theEarth-Descended peoples place all of humanity's important artworks on an evacuation starship to preserve the works by sending them to Tau Epsilon.[5]
InAlbert Camus' 1971 novelA Happy Death, a character called Eliane, whomPatrice Meursault describes as an Idealist, thinks that she looks like the figure from the painting and even has various reproductions of the painting decorating her room.[6]
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