I confess,
therefore, it was no small satisfaction to me to find the question had
been raised by an independent inquirer, Mr. Dickes, who published in the
_Magazine of Art_, 1893, the results of his investigations, the
conclusion at which he arrived being that this is the portrait of
Prospero Colonna, Liberator of Italy, painted by Giorgione in the year
1500.
Briefly stated, the argument is as follows:--
I. (1) The person represented closely resembles
Prospero Colonna (1464-1523), whose authentic
likeness is to be seen--
(_a_) In an engraving in Pompilio Totti's
"Ritratti et Elogie di Capitani illustri.
Rome, 1635."
(_b_) In a bust in the Colonna Gallery, Rome.
(_c_) In an engraving in the "Columnensium
Procerum" of the Abbas Domenicus
de Santis. Rome, 1675.
(All three are reproduced in the article in question.)
[Illustration: _Hanfstaengl photo. National Gallery, London_.
PORTRAIT OF A MAN]
(2) The description of Prospero Colonna, given
by Pompilio Totti (in the above book)
tallies with our portrait.
(3) The accessories in the picture confirm the
identity--e.g. the St Andrew's Cross, or
saltire, is on the Colonna family banner;
the bay, emblem of victory, is naturally
associated with a great captain; the rosary
may refer to the fact of Prospero's residence
as lay brother in the monastery of the
Olivetani, near Fondi, which was rebuilt
by him in 1500.
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