Man Holding a Book

1529 painting by Parmigianino

Man Holding a Book

Artist| Parmigianino
Year| c. 1529
Medium| Oil on panel
Dimensions| 67.5 cm × 53 cm (26.6 in × 21 in)
Location| Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Man Holding a Book or Man with a Book is an oil on panel painting by Parmigianino, executed c. 1529, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.[1]

## Description

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The painting depicts a young man, in a brown background, dressed in black with a hat of the same color. He is portrayed in half-length, with his elbow resting on a table and his index finger on his temple, while the other hand holds an open book. He is of young age, has brown hair in short locks and a thick, blondish, beard. He has a thoughtful expression, like if he had made a pause in the reading of the book. The style of painting is rapid, made of brushstrokes that leave features not fused together, which is clearly visible on the forehead, on the doublet and on the book. This is a stylistic characteristic typical of his Bolognese period.[2]

## Provenance

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It was bought at the sale of the collection of Charles I of England in 1651 by Greene and was recorded in Rudolf II's collection in Prague in 1685, at which time it was thought to be a work by Correggio, an artist with a strong influence on Parmigianino early in the latter's career. It arrived in Vienna in 1721, still with that attribution, and it was only in 1857 that Ktaft restored its present attribution, with the agreement of most other later art historians (Frölich-Bum, 1921, Gamba, 1940, Longhi, 1958, Di Giampaolo, 1991, Gould, 1994, Chiusa, 2001). Copertini (1932) and Barocchi (1950) argue it is a copy of an autograph work, whilst Arturo Quintavalle (1948) assigns it to Michelangelo Anselmi or Girolamo da Carpi.[3]

## References

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1. ^ "Catalogue entry" (in German).
2. ^ Mario Di Giampaolo and Elisabetta Fadda, Parmigianino, Keybook, Santarcangelo di Romagna 2002 (in Italian). ISBN 8818-02236-9
3. ^ Mario Di Giampaolo and Elisabetta Fadda, Parmigianino, Keybook, Santarcangelo di Romagna 2002 (in Italian). ISBN 8818-02236-9

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Parmigianino

Paintings|

* Baptism of Christ (c. 1519)
* Bardi Altarpiece (c. 1521)
* Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1521–1522)
* Nativity (c. 1521–1522)
* The Circumcision (c. 1523)
* Saint Barbara (c. 1523)
* Female Martyr with Two Angels (c. 1523–1524)
* Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale (1524)
* Portrait of Lorenzo Cybo (1524)
* Sanvitale Madonna and Child (1524; fragment)
* Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (Parma; c. 1524)
* Portrait of a Collector (c. 1524)
* Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (c. 1524)
* Holy Family with Angels (c. 1524)
* Doria Madonna (c. 1525)
* Nativity with Angels (c. 1525)
* Vision of Saint Jerome (1526–1527)
* The Conversion of Saint Paul (1527)
* Virgin and Child (c. 1527–1528)
* Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist (c. 1528)
* Saint Roch (c. 1528)
* Adoration of the Magi (c. 1529)
* Man Holding a Book (c. 1529)
* Kedleston Madonna (c. 1529)
* Santa Margherita Madonna (1529–1530)
* Madonna of the Rose (1530)
* Boy with a Finger in His Mouth (c. 1530)
* Madonna and Child with Saint Zechariah (c. 1530–1533)
* Turkish Slave (1533)
* Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (London; c. 1529)
* Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (Louvre; c. 1529)
* Portrait of a Man (c. 1530)
* Portrait of Cecilia Gozzadini (c. 1530)
* Antea (c. 1535)
* Cupid Making His Bow (c. 1533–1535)
* Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo (c. 1535–1538)
* Madonna with the Long Neck (c. 1535–1540)
* Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons (c. 1539–1540; disputed)
* Lucretia (1540)
* Casalmaggiore Altarpiece (1540)
* Portrait of a Man in a Red Beret (c. 1540; disputed)

Related|

* Rocca Sanvitale, Fontanellato
* Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata
* San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma
* San Petronio, Bologna

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