Timken Museum of Art presents The Invention of the Portrait in Armor: from Pedro Berruguete to Giambattista Moroni a lecture on April 8th 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Speaker: Liliana Leopardi, Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
In this talk, Dr. Leopardi will outline the evolution of the male portrait in armor from the late 15th century to the late 16th century and discuss its significance in shaping a political and military identity for the Renaissance Ruler. Armors and similar military paraphenelia in the Renaissance became closely associated with the glorious Roman Past, and armorers like the Milanese Filippo Negroli played a vital role in devising shapes and suitable decorations for these objects. Given their charged significance it was not long before they made their appearance in portraiture. Thus, particular attention will be paid to Titian’s portraits of the Spanish Kings Charles V and Philip II as key models for the development of a masculine persona that asserted political legitimacy by emphasizing the steely prowess of the sitter’s sexual potency, as seen in Giambattista Moroni’s Portrait of Mario Benvenuti (on loan at the Timken from the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota Florida from May 2 until September 9).
Timken Museum of Art
1500 El Prado
Balboa Park
San Diego, CA 92101
www.timkenmuseum.org