Portrait of a Man with a Medal

Botticelli painted this portrait around 1475, in Florence, at the beginning of his career. He was about thirty, working in the workshop he had recently opened, and producing the portraits and religious paintings that would lead to his great mythological works of the 1480s. A young man sits behind a parapet, holding a gold medal in his right hand. The medal bears the profile of Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the Medici Bank and the patriarch of the family that ruled Florence. The young man's identity is unknown. He may be a member of the Medici family or a Medici supporter. His face is individualized: a long nose, a strong jaw, dark hair falling to his shoulders. He looks out at the viewer with a calm, direct expression. The medal is the key to the painting. Cosimo de' Medici had died in 1464, eleven years before this portrait was painted. The medal, showing his profile in the style of ancient Roman coins, was a way of asserting Medici continuity and authority. The young man holding it is declaring his allegiance to the Medici family. Botticelli himself was a Medici client, and his early career was built on Medici patronage. The portrait is unusual for its time. Most Florentine portraits of the 1470s showed sitters in profile, in the manner of ancient Roman coins. Botticelli painted this young man in three-quarter view, his body turned toward the viewer, his hand extending over the parapet. The parapet itself is a dark ledge that separates the sitter's space from the viewer's. The background is a dark wall, which pushes the figure forward. Tempera on panel, 57 by 44 centimeters, roughly 23 by 17 inches. Botticelli used egg tempera, building the face in thin layers of color. The skin is pale, built in pinks and creams over a greenish underlayer. The hair is painted in fine lines of gold and brown. The medal is gold leaf, applied over a raised gesso ground, which gives it a three-dimensional quality. This print works in a study or hallway, where the portrait format and the historical subject suit the mood. The dark background and the gold medal pair with wood paneling, leather furniture, and brass fixtures. The 16x20 framed version gives the face and the medal enough detail to read. In a larger space, the 18x24 size adds presence. The painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.