Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga

Federico Gonzaga had a good year in 1529. He was made the first Duke of Mantua and he married, and this portrait by Titian may mark the occasion. He stands in blue velvet stitched with gold, one hand resting on his sword, the other stroking a small white Maltese dog, a creature that stood for loyalty. That April, Federico wrote an apologetic note to his uncle, explaining he had to keep Titian a while longer because the painter had begun a portrait he badly wanted finished. The picture later passed into the Spanish royal collection and hangs now in the Prado. The dog looks up at its master while the duke gazes past us, his ringed fingers buried in its fur.