This lavishly dressed young man wears a black overcoat lined with lynx fur, a gold saione (which is an outer garment worn under a coat), and a white shirt. His identity is unknown, but his red hat, which has been associated with men’s fashion in northern Europe, may be a clue to his origins, or perhaps his travels. The artist, Titian, lived in Venice, but his clientele hailed from far beyond the borders of the republic, which was a major crossroads for international travel and trade when this painting was made in the early sixteenth century. Titian may have painted this young man several years after the death in 1510 of his teacher, Giorgione, whose lyrical painting style infused Titian’s own art. Here, Titian’s young man lingers a gloved hand on the hilt of his rapier, a symbol of virility as well as the mark of a gentleman, while he gazes to the left—lost in thought or reverie. The American poet William Carlos Williams was beguiled by him, writing in 1952 that this young man “annihilates time as far as poor mortals may.”
Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat
Various identities for the richly dressed young man in this portrait have been proposed, but none with any certainty. Nevertheless, the portrait seems to have been well known, at least in the seventeenth century; Carlo Dolci included a copy of the figure in the background of his Martyrdom of St. Andrew (Palazzo Pitti, Florence). The painting is generally considered an early work of Titian. The contemplative mood of the subject and the diffused, gentle play of light over the broadly painted surfaces are strongly reminiscent of Titian’s Venetian contemporary Giorgione. The canvas has in the past even been attributed to Giorgione. In mood, pose, and technique, the Frick portrait closely resembles the central figure of The Concert (Palazzo Pitti), a painting that also has been ascribed both to Titian and to Giorgione.
Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996
Possibly with the Salviati family, Villa di Ponte alla Badia, Florence, until sold to Arthur Vansittart (1807–59), 1844; his son, Captain Coleraine Robert Vansittart (1833–86), Paris and Foot's Cray Place (Kent); his estate sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, on the premises of Foot's Cray Place, May 1–4, 1876, lot 204 (May 2); where purchased by "Waters"; Christie, Manson & Woods, London, June 24, 1876, lot 122; where purchased by "Owens"; Christie's, London, May 12, 1906, lot 75; where purchased by Sir Hugh Lane (1875–1915); from whom purchased by Arthur Morton Grenfell (1873–1958), 1911; his estate sale, Christie's, London, June 26, 1914, lot 66; where purchased by Sir Hugh Lane; from whom purchased by Henry Clay Frick, 1915.
Source: Paintings in The Frick Collection: French, Italian and Spanish. Volume II. New York: The Frick Collection, 1968.
Updated by The Curatorial Department in 2022.
