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Gian Lodovico Madruzzo

Artist: Giovanni Battista Moroni (Italian, 1520/24–1578)
Date: 1551–52
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 199.8 × 116 cm (78 5/8 × 45 5/8 in.); Framed: 237.5 × 152.4 × 7.6 cm (93 1/2 × 60 × 3 in.)
Made in: Italy
Style: sixteenth century
Where to see it: Art Institute of Chicago

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection · CC0 Public Domain · Art Institute of Chicago · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗

Notes from the museum

One of the most accomplished painters working in the realist tradition of the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, Giovanni Battista Moroni was above all an outstanding portraitist. Here, he depicted Gian Lodovico Madruzzo. Moroni painted this commanding likeness—along with that of the subject’s brother, Gian Federico Madruzzo (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)—during the Council of Trent, a meeting to address challenges to the Catholic Church posed by the Protestant Reformation. Gian Lodovico Madruzzo eventually succeeded his uncle as prince-bishop, ruler of the city of Trent, in 1567.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.

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About Giovanni Battista Moroni

Giovanni Battista Moroni, also known as Giambattista Moroni was an Italian painter of the Mannerist school. Best known for his elegantly realistic portraits of the local nobility and clergy, he is considered one of the great portrait painters of the Cinquecento.

Painter profile →