Lot Essay
The identity of the sitter here can be established by comparing his features with those in an anonymous bust-length portrait, inscribed with Cesare Gentile's identity and the date 1667 (year in which he was elected Doge of Genoa), which forms part of a series of painted effigies created for the doge's palace in Genoa. Gentile wears the same crown, ruff and ermine cloak in both portraits, suggesting a common source or perhaps that this is the portrait upon which the bust-length one in Genoa is based.