Titian, Portrait of a Man With a Quilted Sleeve
ca 1510Paintings sorted by   Historical period  |   Painter  |  Subject matter  |  Pigments used
Overview
Medium:Â Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 81.2 x 66.3 cm
Art period: High Renaissance
National Gallery London
NG1944
Provenance:Â Â Portrait of a Gentleman in Blue
Mappingpaintings.org
Titian, ‘Portrait of a Man with a Quilted Sleeve’ is a portrait of one of the members of a Barbarigo family, most probably Gerolamo Andrea Barbarigo. The most striking feature of the painting is the masterfully depicted quilted and padded sleeve of the sitter.
The pigment analysis reveals an elaborate structure of the sleeve consisting of interspersed red and blue layers. Titian used the same painting technique for the purple dress in the Portrait of a Lady (La Schiavona).
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of the scientists at the National Gallery London (1). The scientists employed IR-reflectography (IRR),  X-ray radiography (XRR), and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to gain insights into the inner layers of the painting and to identify the pigments.
1 Sleeve: the first layer consists of carmine kermes lake and a little madder lake mixed with lead white. Next are alternating blue and purple layers consisting of varying amounts of natural ultramarine, red lake, and lead white. The result is a masterful depiction of quilted and padded satin fabric (1).
2Â White shirt (camicia): lead white.
3 Grey-brown background: lead white darkened with lamp black and yellow ochre.
.
References
(1) Jill Dunkerton and Marika Spring, with contributions from Rachel Billinge, Kamilla Kalinina, Rachel Morrison, Gabriella Macaro, David Peggie and Ashok Roy, Titian’s Painting Technique to c.1540, National Gallery Technical Bulletin, volume 34, 2013, pp. 4-31. Available as pdf. Catalog part I pp. 56-61. Available as pdf.
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
See the collection of online and offline resources such as books, articles, videos, and websites on Titian in the section ‘Resources on Painters‘
PowerPoint Presentations
Painter in Context: Titian
A richly illustrated presentation on the Venetian Renaissance painter Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)Â containing information on painting technique, pigments employed, and important written and online resources.
Number of slides: 23
Formats included in the download: PowerPoint Screen Presentation (ppsx) and pdf
Videos
Video: 'Titian’s Early Portraits' by National Gallery London
Video: 'Titian, Portrait of a Man' by Smarthistory
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Jill Dunkerton and Marika Spring, with contributions from Rachel Billinge, Kamilla Kalinina, Rachel Morrison, Gabriella Macaro, David Peggie and Ashok Roy, Titian’s Painting Technique to c.1540, National Gallery Technical Bulletin, volume 34, 2013, pp. 4-31. Available as pdf. Catalog part I pp. 52-55. Available as pdf.
