Portrait of a Man

About the Artwork

This portrait of an unknown man includes a detailed representation of a rapier, a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. On the basis of style, the rapier in this painting belonged to a distinctive group of sword hilts decorated between about 1570 and 1600. It was probably made in northern Italy.The son of a Piedmontese architect, Tanzio spent most of his life in northern Italy, but worked briefly in Rome and southern Italy, mainly Naples. These trips brought him under the influence of Caravaggio, whose dramatic realism Tanzio integrated into his own elegant, decorative style.

Provenance

Until 11 January 1984: Antoine Pereira, Geneva January 11, 1984: (acquired by Matthiesen Fine Art, London [stock nr. 8260], in partnership with Giorgio Balboni and one other) 1985: (Matthiesen Fine Art, London, by whom sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1985-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Exhibition history

Tanzio da Varallo. Realismo fervore e contemplazione in un pittore del Seicento. Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy (April 13-July 16, 2000). Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 2025-February 1, 2026).

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

Quick Overview

Artist: Tanzio da Varallo (Italian, c. 1575/80–1635)
Date: c. 1620
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 125 x 99.5 x 7 cm (49 3/16 x 39 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 97.8 x 72.2 cm (38 1/2 x 28 7/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession no.: 1985.143

Open-access museum record · AT-00009282