The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Portrait of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere

c. 1476–82

Pedro Berruguete

(Castilian, c. 1445/1450-1503)
Spain
oil on wood, transferred to canvas
Framed: 95.5 x 76 x 5 cm (37 5/8 x 29 15/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 70.2 x 51.4 cm (27 5/8 x 20 1/4 in.)
Holden Collection 1916.815
Location: 118 Italian Renaissance

Did You Know?

James Jackson Jarves (1818–1888)—famed art critic and one of the first Americans to amass a collection of medieval, Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque paintings from Italy—owned this painting in the late 19th century.

Description

Spanish artist Pedro Berruguete spent a decade in Italy in the 1470s and 1480s, including a period in Rome during which he painted Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere from life. Here, the pope raises his hand in a gesture of benediction, blessing the viewer while meeting their gaze. Using white highlights to represent the glittering luminosity of the bejeweled garments, Berruguete accentuates Sixtus IV’s sumptuous attire, including the triregnum, or ceremonial triple crown and symbol of the papacy.
  • James Jackson Jarves, Florence, after 1872;
    Mrs. Liberty E. Holden, Cleveland, 1884, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 461; Mentioned: p. 460-462
    Rubinstein-Bloch, Stella. Catalogue of a Collection of Paintings, Etc. Presented by Mrs. Liberty E. Holden to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1917. Mentioned: p. 24, cat. no. 19; Reproduced: p. 57, No. 19 archive.org
    G. U. "The Holden Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 2 (1917): 19-34. Mentioned: p. 20 www.jstor.org
    Bottacin, Francesca, Joos, and Fernando Marías. Giusto di Gand e la Comunione del Duca d'Urbino. Padova : CLEUP, 2021. Mentioned: p. 95; reproduced: p. 96, fig. 56
    Regoli, Gigetta Dalli. "Ipotesi per un'Allegoria: pagnotte e non salsicce." Critica d’Arte 81, n. 19-20, ser. 9 (July-December 2023): 7-19 Mentioned: p. 11; Reproduced: p. 12 (fig. 10)
  • Francesco di Giorgio e Federico da Montefeltro: Urbino, Crossroads of the Arts (1475-1490). Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy (organizer) (June 23-October 9, 2022).
    I Della Rovere: Storia di una Dinastia. Palazzo del Duca, Senigallia, Italy (April 4-October 3, 2004).
    Palazzo del Duca, Senigallia, Italy (4/1/2004 - 10/1/2004): "I Della Rovere: Storia di una Dinastia", exh. cat. no.III.I, p. 283.
    Pedro Berruguete: El Primer Pintor Renacentista de la Corona de Castillla. Museo Parroquial de Santa Eulalia, Paredes de Nava, Palencia, Spain (April 4-June 8, 2003).
    Museo Parroquial de Santa Eulalia, Paredes de Nava, Palencia, Spain (4/4/2003 - 6/8/2003): "Pedro Berruguete" exh. cat. no. 11, p. 118-119.
    Boston, 1883: American Exhibition of Foregin Products, Arts, and Manufactures: Art Department, Jarves Collection. no. 406.
    Form in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-November 10, 1959).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    CMA, 1936: "The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of CMA," no. 92.
    Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
    New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1912: Loan Exhibition of the Holden Collection. no. 14.
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere|url=false|author=Pedro Berruguete|year=c. 1476–82|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.815