Portrait of a gentleman with a falcon, circa 1548-circa 1550 by Nicolò dell'Abate ::

Details

Other Title

Portrait of a gentleman, half length, wearing a black coat with grey sleeves and a hat, a falcon perched on his finger

Date

circa 1548-circa 1550

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions

107.5 x 84.5 cm stretcher; 139.5 x 117.0 x 8.0 cm frame

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Purchase 1991

Location

South Building, ground level, Grand Courts

Accession number

167.1991

Copyright

Reproduction requests

Artist information

Nicolò dell'Abate

Works in the collection

1

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About

Nicolo dell' Abate was an Emilian painter active in Modena, Bologna and ultimately the Fontainebleau of Henry II of France, where he worked with his compatriot, the equally gifted Primaristocrataticcio. He was associated with, rather than central to, the mannerist movement which was virtually a European court style in the first half of the sixteenth century. It was in the newly independent genre of landscape that dell' Abate made his most enduring contribution to the history of Western art. His classically inspired landscapes are staffed by elegant figures and typified by pastoral themes pre-empting those of Poussin and Claude. In portraiture dell' Abate was a canny observer of the interior life of his subjects, managing to suggest something of the uniqueness of their psychology. The north Italian aristocrat portrayed here has an almost indecisive air at odds with his masterful pose and sporty regalia. Dell' Abate clearly empathised with this equivocal quality, which he so subtly translates into paint.

AGNSW Handbook, 1999.

Exhibition history

Shown in 7 exhibitions

Old masters: recent acquistions, Agnew's, London, London, 02 Nov 1971–10 Dec 1971
Master paintings: recent acquistions, Agnew's, London, London, 29 May 1975–04 Jul 1975
Splendour of the Baroque: Painting from Bologna 1550 to 1750, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 21 May 1993–18 Jul 1993

Splendour of the Baroque: Painting from Bologna 1550 to 1750, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 20 Sep 1993–31 Oct 1993
Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994
The fine art of giving: 90 masterpieces from the William Bowmore Collection, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 02 Nov 1999–01 Apr 2000
European Old Masters 16th-19th Century from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, , 28 Sep 2017–03 Dec 2017
Grand Courts collection rehang, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Nov 2021–2023

Bibliography

Referenced in 31 publications

Agnew's, London, Old masters: recent acquisitions, London, 1971, np, no 16, illus. Entered as 'Sebastiano del Piombo'.
Agnew's, London, Master paintings: recent acquisitions, London, 1975, p 22, no 21, illus p XI.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 1994, Sydney, 1994, p 8.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Great gifts, great patrons: an exhibition celebrating private patronage of the Gallery, Sydney, 1994, p [1].
Bernard Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Venetian School, 1957, vol 1, p 163. Entered as 'Sebastiano del Piombo', Contini Bonacossi coll.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1992, Sydney, 1992, pp 7–8, 14, col illus, p 6, pp 3, 15 and cover (details).
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1993, Sydney, 1993, p 1, 7, 12, col illus p 19.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Renée Free and Venetia Nelson (Editors), Splendour of the Baroque: Painting in Bologna from 1550 to 1750, Sydney, 1993, pp 3–4, col illus p 4.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Foundation Newsletter #7, Sydney, Dec 2005, np.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1997, Sydney, 1997, p 17, col illus p 17.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1996, Sydney, 1996, p 6.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1995, Sydney, 1995, p 8.
Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1991, Sydney, 1991, p 9.
Edmund Capon, Great philanthropists on trial : the art of the bequest, 'The James Fairfax collection', Melbourne, 2006, pp 126–35: p 135.
Renée Free, AGNSW Collections, 'The Western Heritage, Renaissance to Twentieth Century', Sydney, 1994, pp 108–72: p 114, col illus p 114.
Anne Gérard-Austin, Look, 'From the sidelines – Going for gold', Sydney, Jul 2019-Aug 2019, pp 36–38: p 37, no E, col illus p 38.
Terry Ingram, Financial Review, 'Old Master for NSW Gallery', Sydney, 09 Aug 1991, p 5.
Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture', Sydney, 1999, pp 17–77: col illus p 23.
Mauro Lucco and Carlo Volpe, L'opera completa di Sebastiano del Piombo, Milan, 1980, p 133, no 183, illus p 133. Entered as Agnew's.
Rodolfo Pallucchini, Sebastian Viniziano (Fra Sebastiano del Piombo), Milan, 1944, pp 71, 170, illus pl 75. Entered as 'Sebastiano del Piombo c.1530-33'.
Ron Radford (Curator), The fine art of giving: 90 masterpieces from the William Bowmore Collection, Adelaide, 1999, pp 14, 38, 72 note 7, 73, no 5, col illus p 39.
Peter Raissis, The Sydney Modern Project. Transforming the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Past and present: the place of historical European art in Sydney', Sydney, 2022, pp 126–39: p 134.
Tony Stephens, Sydney Morning Herald, 'Collector and giver of art – William Bowmore, 1909–2008', Sydney, 12 Jan 2008.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation and Michael Brand, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation: Celebrating 30 years of art acquisitions, Sydney, 2015, p 14, col illus p 14.
Michael Wardell, Look, 'Foundation building: celebrating 21 years of raising money to buy art for the gallery', Sydney, Sep 2004, pp 14–17: p 15.
Johannes Wilde, The Burlington Magazine, vol 88, no 523, [Review of Palluchini's "Sebastiano Viniziano"], London, Oct 1946, pp 256–59: p 259.
Important old master pictures, London, 09 Dec 1988, p 52, no 33, col illus p 53.
Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 1992 [for the year ended 30 June 1992], Sydney, 1992, p 60, col illus p 53.
Art and Australia, vol 15, no 3, Sydney, Mar 1978, pp 272–82: p 279, illus p 279.
Art Gallery of New South Wales annual report 2000, Sydney, 2000, p 58. Loan.
Art Gallery of New South Wales annual report 1993 [for the year ended 30 June 1993], Sydney, 1993, pp 6, 20, 52.

Provenance

The provenance of this work is under review and records will be updated as new details become available. The Gallery welcomes any information. Contact provenance@ag.nsw.gov.au

Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi, Florence/Tuscany/Italy, [dealer]

Agnew's, London, London/England, By 1971, exhibited in 'Old masters – recent acquisitions' 2 Nov – 10 Dec 1971

William Bowmore, 1975?-19 Jul 1991, Sydney/New South Wales/Australia, Purchased by the AGNSW from William Bowmore 1991. This painting was offered for sale at Christie's London, 9 December 1988 'Important Old Master Pictures', but did not sell.