Portrait of Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps (1533-1595), bust-length

This portrait, identified by Antonio Vannugli (unpublished essay, 2018) as Cardinal Marco Sittico Altemps (1533-1595), nephew of Pope Pius IV Medici, corresponds to a description in the Altemps family inventory of 1618⁄19, which describes it as 'di età di 37 anni… di Scipione Gaetano' (F. Nicolai, Mecenati a confronto. Committenza, collezionismo e mercato dell’arte nella Roma del primo Seicento. Le famiglie Massimo, Altemps, Naro e Colonna, Rome, 2008, p. 231, no. 128). The Cardinal, depicted at age 37, wears a sleeveless red silk vest rather than his official mozzetta. An identical likeness appears in Anton Bays’ 1578 banquet scene of the Hohenems family (City Museum of Polička, Czech Republic).

Pulzone, celebrated for his refined portrayals of the Papal Curia, skillfully combines Mannerist elegance with Roman cosmopolitan sophistication, echoing the portraiture of Bronzino and Alessandro Allori.