Portrait of a Man

When the Borghese household listed its pictures in 1693, the clerk wrote this down as a portrait of the Pianerlotto by Parmigianino. The painter's name has held ever since, with rare dissent. The name Pianerlotto has led nowhere, and who the young man was is still unknown. The gallery dates the panel to around 1528, when Parmigianino was working in Bologna, though some scholars place it a few years later. His clothes say something about him. The heavy dark gown, worn in layers, and the black cap were the dress of a well-off gentleman, and the tie of his white shirt shows at the throat. He comes very close to us and meets our eyes straight on. The panel, now kept in the storerooms, may have been cut down long ago, which would explain how tightly he fills it.