Attributed to
Andrea Mantegna
, Italian, 1430/31-1506
Title
Portrait of Francesco II Gonzaga, 4th Marquess of Mantua, (1466-1519)Datec.1490s
MediumBlack chalk and grey wash with white highlights on paper
Dimensions
34.8 x 23.8 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1866
Object numberNGI.2019
DescriptionIn 1484 Francesco Gonzaga succeeded his father Ludovico II to become the 4th Marquess of Mantua. Francesco was a military man, and unlike his wife Isabella d’Este, did not have a reputation as an intellectual. Despite this, he was an enthusiastic patron of Mantegna and other artists. In a contemporary account he was described as ‘short, pop-eyed, snub-nosed and exceptionally brave’. Mantegna moved to Mantua in 1459 to work for Francesco’s grandfather Ludovico I and spent the rest of his working life in the city, apart from a two-year stay in Rome. This highly finished drawing is of a type popular in Renaissance Italy. Created as works of art in their own right, these were often gifted to visiting dignitaries. The attribution of this portrait has been the subject of much critical debate over the years. Although purchased in 1866 as a drawing of the great Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, by Leonardo da Vinci, later it was associated with both Francesco Bonsignori and Giovanni Bellini. In the early twentieth century scholars confirmed the identity of the sitter as Francesco II Gonzaga thanks to his distinctive features. It is now generally accepted that Mantegna is the most probable author.
ProvenanceRichard Cosway; R. Houlditch; Revd Dr H. Wellesley; purchased Sotheby's, London, 25 June 1866, Revd Dr H. Wellesley sale, lot 1800 Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
The Drawings from The National Gallery of Ireland: a loan exhibition, Wildenstein, London, 31 May - 7 July 1967
Splendour of the Gonzaga, Victor and Albert Museum, London, 4 November 1981 - 31 January 1982
Master European Drawings From the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983
Andrea Mantegna, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 17 January - 5 April 1992; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 9 May - 12 July 1992
Isabella d'Este, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 13 February - 24 May 1994
Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), Musée du Louvre, Paris, 22 September 2008 - 5 January 2009
The Portrait in Renaissance Italy: From Masaccio to Bellini, Bode-Museum, Berlin, 25 August - 20 November 2011