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Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552 - Roma, 1614)
Portrait of a young boy at the age of twelve, (1600)
Oil on canvas
cm. 38.6x30.6
Inscription at the top: "DAMAGES XII".
Expertise by Dr. Caroline Pamela Murphy.
This intense portrait, recently attributed to Lavinia Fontana by scholar Caroline Pamela Murphy and confirmed by Professor Vera Fortunati (entry into the Dublin exhibition catalogue), represents a significant testimony to Bolognese portraiture of the late sixteenth century.
The work, dated around 1600, marks a crucial stylistic transition for the artist: the overcoming of Mannerist rigidity toward the new naturalism promoted by the Carracci reforms. The execution technique, characterized by a freer application of color and the use of thick white lead, reflects this evolution, finding direct parallels in mature masterpieces such as the Family Portrait in the Brera Art Gallery. The boy is depicted in profile against a dark, neutral background that enhances his psychological presence and expressive immediacy. The clothing, though sober, reveals Fontana's typical virtuosity in the rendering of detail: the tunic is enriched with decorations and buttons rendered with a special lead-tin yellow pigment designed to simulate gold, while the white lace collar is depicted with meticulous optical precision. The light strikes the young man's face, creating a strong chiaroscuro contrast that shapes his features, lending his gaze an almost devotional and melancholic intensity. The inscription "DANNI XII" on the canvas underscores the documentary value of the painting, probably commissioned to celebrate the subject's transition to adolescence. This sensitivity towards the
The world of childhood is a constant in Fontana's career, instilling a rare gravitas and dignity even in his youngest patrons. The work, long unseen, is now in excellent condition.
Bibliography: 2023, Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker, 6 May - 27 August, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Cat. 39, pp. 102-103.