Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto Lot n° 5044

Bearded man with feathered hat (portrait of Gian Lorenzo Bernini?). Etching. 17,9 x 13,7 cm. B. 31, Bellini 8, TIB (Commentary) .031 S3. The question of the identity of the sitter has been answered differently in the literature - while Bartsch, Nagler and Le Blanc saw in it a self-portrait of Castiglione, Marcenaro and Bellini consider it a portrait of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and date it to the end of the 1640s, around the time of the creation of the series of "Great Oriental Heads". The influence of Rembrandt's self-portraits is unmistakable. Quite excellent impression with fine smudges and light plate dirt, margins at left, traces of a margin at top and right, just trimmed into the image at bottom. Lightly dusted, small stains at upper right, lower left corner a bit thin, otherwise nicely preserved.