How does Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati elucidate its abstract?
The Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati is a painting by early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, dating to around 1431 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, Austria. Niccolò Albergati was traditionally identified as the subject of the portrait, but modern scholarship suggests that Henry Beaufort is more likely to be its subject. If the portrait is of Henry Beaufort, it would be the earliest realistic portrait of an Englishman. Other scholars .The portrait was based on a drawing, now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany.
The cardinal is portrayed from three-quarters, as was usual in Flemish painting since as early as the 1430s, on a dark background which enhances the figure, which is instead subject to a bright light source. As common in van Eyck's work, attention to detail is maximum, thanks to his technique using successive layers of colors diluted with oil, which allowed him deep effects of transparency and lucidity. Comparison with the preparatory drawing shows that van Eyck changed several realistic details, such as the depth of the shoulders, the lower curve of the nose, the depth of the mouth and mainly the size of the ear, perhaps to strengthen the impression of seniority and, consequently, of authority of the cardinal.
Dresden a drawing Kunsthistorisches Museum Niccolò Albergati Austria Jan van Eyck early Netherlandish Flemish painting Vienna Henry Beaufort Albergati