Portrait of Bindo Altoviti (Raphael)

Infobox Painting|

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title=Portrait of Bindo Altoviti
artist=Raphael
year=1512-1515
type=oil on wood
height=60
width=44
city=Washington, D.C.
museum=National Gallery of Art

The "Portrait of Bindo Altoviti" is a painting finished around 1514 by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael. It is housed in the National Gallery of Art of Washington, D.C.

Bindo Altoviti was a rich banker born in Rome in 1491, but of Florentine origin. He was a cultured man who loved the arts.

The graceful, almost effeminate position of the subject along with the heavy contrast between light and shadow are atypical of Raphael's work, particularly of his portraits of men, demonstrating the artist's experimentation with different styles and forms in his later Roman period. The influence of the works of Leonardo, which Raphael studied astutely during this period of his career, are strikingly evident in this particular piece.

The painting was a property of Altoviti’s descendants until, in 1808, it was sold to Ludwig I of Bavaria. It remained at the Alte Pinakothek until 1936, when, after many debates about its attribution, the painting was lured out of Nazi Germany by "canny English dealers" [http://yalepress.yale.edu/YUPBOOKS/book.asp?isbn=9780300108248] . Acquired by Samuel Kress, the portrait subsequently became property of the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Further reading

*David Brown and Jane Van Nimmen. "Raphael and the Beautiful Banker: The Story of the Bindo Altoviti Portrait". Yale University Press, 2005.