Attributed to Francesco Torbido, il Moro (1482/3-1562)

Portrait of Alessandro Amaphi, half-length, in black robes, holding a letter, his hand on a casket

Details
Attributed to Francesco Torbido, il Moro (1482/3-1562)
Portrait of Alessandro Amaphi, half-length, in black robes, holding a letter, his hand on a casket
inscribed 'ALEX.AMA.PHI.F'
oil on canvas
43¾ x 35in. (111.2 x 88.9cm.)
Provenance
Presumably John, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792) or John, 4th Earl and 1st Marquess of Bute (1744-1814) and by descent at Luton Park (presumably 1799 inventory, p. 64, as Titian, 'Hernardo Cortes') and elsewhere.
Literature
Presumably, Gentleman's Magazine, LXXXVII, 2, 1817, p. 7, no. 75, as Titian, 'Hernando Cortez'.
J.P. Richter, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures lent for Exhibition by the Marquis of Bute, K.T., London, 1883, no. 9.
Exhibited
Bethnal Green, 1883, no. 9, as School of Titian.
Glasgow, 1884.

Lot Essay

Richter observed: 'The imposing appearance of the simply conceived composition is an evidence that the picture was executed by a Venetian artist contemporary with Titian and Tintoretto. The colours have unfortunately much darkened by the influence of time ...' Sir Ellis Waterhouse in 1949 suggested 'vaguely Brescian(?)' (annotation in his copy of the 1883 catalogue).

The contractions in the inscription may plausibly be expanded as 'ALEX[ANDER] AMA[...] PHI[LIPPI] F[ILIUS]' (Alexander Ama..., son of Philippo). Alternatively, the 'PHI' might stand for 'PHISICUS', alluding to the sitter's profession. In that case, the casket on the table would contain medicine, as in Titian's Portrait of Antonio Palma in the Staatliche Gemäldegalerie at Dresden (H.E. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, II, The Portraits, London, 1971, no. 69, pl. 205).

We are grateful to Mr. Terence Mulally for suggesting a possible attribution to Francesco Torbido.

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