Male Portraits By Antonello Da Messina - Portrait of A Man (1476, Turin)

Portrait of A Man (1476, Turin)

Often called Trivulzio portrait, this portrait was signed by Antonello and dated 1476. Probably one of the first works finished by him in Messina after his return from the Venetian sojourn, it is painted over walnut-wood, whereas in the Veneto, at the time, poplar wood was more common.

The subject, whose identity has remained unknown, is painted with an enigmatic face, a mix of defiance and haughty detachment. The Italian scholar Federico Zeri defined it "a broadminded glance of banker or trader's pushiness". The work is regarded at one of the points in which Antonello overcomes the Flemish influences and experimentations, creating a definite combinations of rendering of the character together with artistical research.

The painting is housed in the Turin City Museum of Ancient Art.