Portrait of Agostino Barbarigo

after c. 1571

Paolo Veronese

(Italian, 1528–1588)

Culture

Italy, Venice

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 136.2 x 136.2 x 12.1 cm (53 5/8 x 53 5/8 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 102.2 x 104.2 cm (40 1/4 x 41 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. L. E. Holden, Mr. and Mrs. Guerdon S. Holden, and the L. E. Holden Fund 1928.16

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Location

118 Italian Renaissance

Did You Know?

The arrow symbolically indicates that this portrait was painted after the sitter died in battle.

Description

Barbarigo served as second in command of the Venetian naval forces during the Battle of Lepanto, fighting against the Ottoman Empire on October 7, 1571. During the skirmish, Barbarigo was slain by a Turkish arrow, which he holds in the portrait.

Barbarigo’s identity is defined by his military prowess. In the 1500s, Venetian military portraits often portrayed the sitter in armor in a pose typical of a Roman emperor, creating a link to the valor and might of ancient armies.