Portrait of a musician

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Portrait of a musician: Leonardo da Vinci

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Art Type: Oil Painting
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Leonardo da Vinci Oil Painting - Portrait of a musician

Keywords: Portrait, musician

Work Overview: Artist Leonardo da Vinci
Year 1490
Type Oil on wood panel
Dimensions 45 cm × 32 cm (18 in × 13 in)
Location Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan

Portrait of a Musician is an oil on wood painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci by some scholars. It was probably painted in 1490.

The man in the painting was at one time thought to be Franchino Gaffurio, who was the maestro di cappella of the Milanese Cathedral. Although some believe it to be a portrait of Gaffurio, others think the man is anonymous. The piece of paper he holds is at least one part of a musical score; it has notes written on it. The painting was greatly restored and repainted, and Leonardo probably left the portrait unfinished but close to completion.

The man is positioned in a three-quarter position and he is holding a partition sheet. The musician stares at something outside the spectator's field of vision. Compared to the detailed face of the musician, the red hat, his tunic and his hair seem to be painted by a completely other painter. Art historians have recognized the fine art of da Vinci in the young man's face, though the partition sheet and his hand may have been added onto the original work.

Siegfried Woldhek, a Dutch illustrator, has claimed that 'Portrait of a Musician' is one of three self-portraits by Leonardo.

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It was not until 1904 that the hand and sheet of music were discovered underneath overpaintings, and it is these that have given the painting its present title. Since this discovery, efforts have also been made to identify the person depicted. The names of two important court musicians in Milan during that period are known: Franchino Gaffurio (1451-1522) and Josquin des Prés (c. 1450-1521). But there is no clear indication enabling us to identify either of these two in this portrait.

The attribution to Leonardo is debated. If the picture is Leonardo's work, this is the only portrait of a man executed by Leonardo.

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