Portrait of Agostino Barbarigo

Also known as: Agostino Barbarigo; Ammiraglio Manfrin

About the Artwork

Barbarigo served as second in command of the Venetian naval forces during the Battle of Lepanto, fighting against the Ottoman Empire on October 7, 1571. During the skirmish, Barbarigo was slain by a Turkish arrow, which he holds in the portrait. Barbarigo’s identity is defined by his military prowess. In the 1500s, Venetian military portraits often portrayed the sitter in armor in a pose typical of a Roman emperor, creating a link to the valor and might of ancient armies.

Provenance

Possibly Giorgio Bergonzi (Venice, Italy), Possibly Manfrin, Venice, 1856] H. O. Miethke (Vienna, 1927]) Italico Brass, 1870-1943 (Venice, Italy), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.

Exhibition history

The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957). The Golden Century of Venetian Painting. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (October 23, 1978-January 28, 1979). Venezia e la difea del Levante: da Lepanto a Candia 1570-1690. Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Venice, Italy (organizer) (March 15-July 20, 1986). The Secular Veronese. Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, France (organizer) (September 22, 2004-September 30, 2005); Museo Correr (February 11-May 29, 2005). Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (organizer) (March 15-August 16, 2009); Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (September 14, 2009-January 4, 2010). Paolo Veronese: Versatile Master of Renaissance Venice. John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL (organizer) (December 6, 2012-April 14, 2013).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528–1588)
Date: after c. 1571
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 136.2 x 136.2 x 12.1 cm (53 5/8 x 53 5/8 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 102.2 x 104.2 cm (40 1/4 x 41 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. L. E. Holden, Mr. and Mrs. Guerdon S. Holden, and the L. E. Holden Fund
Accession no.: 1928.16

More by Paolo Veronese in museum collections

Various Sketches of the Madonna and Child (recto); Architectural Studies (verso) [partially visible on recto]
Paolo Veronese
c. 1570 · Drawing
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00000335
Various Sketches of the Madonna and Child (recto)
Paolo Veronese
c. 1580 · Drawing
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00010975