Francesco Traballesi at the Seattle Art Museum is the Daily Pic by Blake Gopnik
The Daily Pic: Francesco Traballesi trumpets that his painting's almost done, after it's finished.
(Photo by Elizabeth Mann, courtesy the Seattle Art Museum)
A little while ago, I Daily Pic’d a Renaissance painting that seemed all about the long time it takes to sit for your portrait. This later picture, which I recently saw at the Seattle Art Museum, seems keen on warping portraiture’s timeline. It was painted in 1567 by the late Mannerist artist Francesco Traballesi, and it depicts a young man named Bartolomeo Sirigatti, who is holding a note to his father that reads “the painter is almost finished with my portrait and I like it very much”. This doesn’t come off as perfectly true – since the portrait that shows us the letter is complete, and notable for the fine and final touches that allow its text to be read.
For a full visual survey of past Daily Pics visit blakegopnik.com/archive.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.