Portrait of Ippolito della Rovere

Barocci spent almost his entire career as the favoured painter of the ducal court of Urbino, and this portrait, dated around 1599, belongs to that world. The sitter has long been identified as Ippolito della Rovere, a marchese of the ruling family, though scholars have discussed and revised that identification more than once. He wears the sober dark dress that wealthy Italian men favoured at the close of the 16th century, when heavy black cloth signalled status rather than mourning. Barocci gives the face his usual soft, attentive modelling, the same care he brought to the dukes themselves. The plain costume, with no armour and no emblems of office, marks him as a gentleman of the house rather than its ruler.