Description
Portrait of a Young Man (London) is a painting by Sandro Botticelli from around 1483: a young Florentine with brown curls under a small red cap looks us straight in the eye, in a brown jacket against a dark ground. The original, tempera on panel, measures just 37.5 x 28.3 cm and hangs in the National Gallery in London. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure, every one of them larger than the original. You get a photograph of the finished portrait before it leaves our workshop.
| Title: | Portrait of a Young Man (London) |
| Other titles: | Ritratto virile (Italian title) · Portret mladeniča (London) (Slovene title) |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1483 |
| Original size: | 37.5 cm x 28.3 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | National Gallery, London, United Kingdom |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Portrait of a Young Man (London) – Sandro Botticelli
What does Portrait of a Young Man (London) show?
The small wooden panel shows a young man from the chest up. His body and face are turned straight towards us, which is rare in Botticelli. Large brown eyes meet ours calmly and a little seriously; the mouth is full, the cheekbones strong, the nose broad with pronounced nostrils.
His brown, wavy hair falls to his shoulders, and a small, plain red cap sits on the crown of his head. The curls are painted strand by strand, a few fine hairs straying into the dark.
He wears a brown jacket edged with fur at the neck and tied with a white cord. The knot and the two ends of the cord hang down the middle of his chest; beneath the jacket a narrow black edge and the white collar of his shirt show.
The background is almost black and empty. Light falls from the left, leaving the right side of the face in soft shadow, so the head stands out from the dark like sculpture.
Who is the young man, and what does the portrait say?
The sitter’s name is unknown. The English article describes him only as a young city dweller from Florence, and nobody knows where the panel first hung.
According to the Italian and French articles, the red cap was typical of the Florentine middle class of the day.
The portrait tells no story and hides no symbols. In his later portraits Botticelli often left out landscapes and interiors to concentrate on the sitter alone.
Scholars read the intense gaze as a kind of psychological dialogue with the viewer. To them the outline looks taut and more restless than in works thought to be earlier, such as Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder.
Why does this portrait matter so much?
Before this work, Italian painters showed their sitters in profile or in three-quarter view. Here the young man sits facing us head on, his whole face in view, which is why the English Wikipedia calls the painting revolutionary for its time. It is Botticelli’s only known en face portrait.
It was given at various times to Giorgione and Filippino Lippi, and some even took it for a self-portrait by Masaccio; today it is widely accepted as a Botticelli.
The Wikipedia article on the portrait, written in English, tells more about the painters it was once given to.
Where does the original hang?
The original belongs to the National Gallery in London, where it has been since 1859. The panel measures only 37.5 x 28.3 cm, smaller than a sheet of A3 paper.
It dates from around 1483, within Botticelli’s most successful decade and shortly after his work in the Sistine Chapel in Rome (1481–82).
Sandro Botticelli was born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi in Florence around 1445, the son of a tanner. Vasari says he trained first as a goldsmith before learning to paint under Filippo Lippi. He died on 17 May 1510 and is buried in the church of Ognissanti; the Pre-Raphaelites rediscovered him in the late 19th century.
This portrait or another Botticelli?
This canvas painting suits anyone who loves faces and quiet.
Botticelli painted another young man, now in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Portrait of a Young Man (Florence) is a few years earlier: the youth turns in three-quarter view and wears a large black cap and a red coat against a pale blue-grey ground. The London sitter faces us squarely, in a red cap and brown jacket before a dark ground.
If you want a male portrait with more of a story, see Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel, where a young man in blue holds a small painted medallion of a saint. For a gentle female profile there is Portrait of a Young Woman from the Palazzo Pitti.
All the famous Botticelli paintings we paint to order, from Madonnas to myths, are on our Sandro Botticelli page.
How do we hand-paint Portrait of a Young Man (London)?
Botticelli’s original is not an oil painting but tempera on a wooden panel of 37.5 x 28.3 cm. Ours is a Sandro Botticelli reproduction made with brush and oil paint on canvas, layer upon layer, and the finished portrait reaches you rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed.
First the painter draws the head, shoulders and cap and lays in the dark ground, then the brown jacket, the red cap and the warm skin.
He spends longest on the face. The shadow on the right side, the eyes with their brown irises and tiny highlights, and the full mouth are built up in thin glazes. Last come the curls, the fur trim and the white cord.
Which size of the portrait suits which wall?
In short: the two smallest sizes for a desk or a narrow wall, the middle ones for a bedroom or hallway, the largest for a living room or stairwell.
We paint the portrait in 8 upright sizes (width x height): 30 x 40, 36 x 48, 47 x 62, 60 x 81, 77 x 100, 95 x 128, 120 x 160 and 156 x 200 cm. The original measures 28.3 x 37.5 cm (width x height), so every one of our sizes is larger. Even 30 x 40 cm is a little larger; at 60 x 81 cm the width and height are about double, and at 156 x 200 cm more than five times as great.
The 30 x 40 and 36 x 48 cm sizes suit a bookshelf or a work corner; 47 x 62 and 60 x 81 cm fill the wall above a chest of drawers or a bed. As a painting for the living room it comes into its own from 77 x 100 cm upwards; the two largest sizes need a high, open wall.
Can I order another size, and which frame suits it?
Yes. The composition is simple and adapts well to other proportions: we add or trim a little of the dark ground at the edges, while the face and shoulders stay whole. Send us the size you need for a price and a delivery date.
We ship the portrait rolled in a tube, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and packs every oil painting reproduction with care.
The moulding for the portrait is chosen in our 3D app; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service. A dark wooden frame or a slim gilded moulding suits the dark ground and the brown tones.
When will your portrait arrive?
Your young Florentine is ready to ship 15 to 45 working days after you confirm the order. Before we pack it, we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and if you wish, we make changes.
There are no customs duties within Slovenia and the rest of the EU, and our returns policy applies to every purchase.
It makes a fine present for anyone who loves the Renaissance. Not sure about their wall? With a wall art voucher they pick the painting and the size on their own.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original portrait?
In the National Gallery in London, where it has been since 1859.
Who is the young man in the portrait?
His name is unknown; the English article calls him a young city dweller from Florence.
Is it a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy: our painter brushes the face, the curls and every hair of the fur.
How large is the original?
37.5 x 28.3 cm (height x width), smaller than any of our sizes.
Is a size outside the list possible for this portrait?
Yes. Give us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a date for the portrait.
How many working days does the portrait need, and how is it packed?
It is ready in 15 to 45 working days and travels rolled, stretched or framed.
Will it suit a study or a bedroom?
Yes. The calm browns and the dark ground go well with wood, books and pale walls.
Why does the frontal view matter?
Because portraits in Italy were then painted in profile or three-quarter view; this is Botticelli’s only known en face portrait.
- Subject: a young Florentine in a red cap, with brown curls and a brown jacket, facing us squarely against a dark ground.
- Original: tempera on panel, c. 1483, 37.5 x 28.3 cm, National Gallery, London.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm, or made to measure, each larger than the 28.3 x 37.5 cm panel.
- Worth knowing: it is Botticelli’s only known full-face portrait; it was once given to Giorgione and even to Masaccio.
