Portrait of a Young Man

This young man looks like a rock star, doesn't he?

Sandro Botticelli is mostly known for his mythological subjects but he also painted a number of portraits, although not nearly as many as have been attributed to him. There are a number of idealized portrait-like paintings of women that probably do not represent a specific person. His male portraits have also often held dubious identifications, most often of various Medici family members, for longer than the real evidence supports. With one or two exceptions his small independent panel portraits show the sitter no further down the torso than about the bottom of the rib-cage. Backgrounds may be plain, or show an open window, usually with nothing but sky visible through it. A few have developed landscape backgrounds. These characteristics were typical of Florentine portraits at the beginning of his career, but old-fashioned by his last years.

This painting was attributed to Botticelli by art historian Bernard Berenson in 1922. It shows a local Florentine man. Features of this piece include his interesting expression and elegant hand gesture, which some have interpreted as an early depiction of juvenile arthritis or Marfan syndrome, a rare multi-systemic genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Those with the condition tend to be tall and thin, with long arms, legs, fingers, and toes. But it might have been also Botticelli's style to paint this way. 

Sandro Botticelli was a Renaissance genius, whose Birth of Venus became one of the most famous paintings in art history. It is of course featured in our Masterpieces 50 Postcards set.  :) 

P.S. Today, with our knowledge we can identify health conditions of people living hundreds of years ago! Curious about health problems that Mona Lisa might have had?