in particular the detail of the reused 16th century
panel originally bearing a painting of the Holy
Family. That painting is precisely what we find if we
subject the panel under discussion here to infrared
inspection (fig. 9).
But we can also deduce that the engraving from
which Canova took his inspiration is the image of
Giorgione da Castel Franco pittore (fig. 10) in Carlo
Ridolfi’s Le meraviglie dell’arte published in Venice
in 1648, the written source that he consulted.
The composition is very similar, as are the (albeit
somewhat softer) facial features and the abundant
hair. The sitter does not appear to be wearing the
armour we can see in the Brunswick Self-portrait
and in Hollar’s engraving of it, or the shirt shown
in the print published by Ridolfi. Rather, he is clad
in fur, and in that connection we may compare it
with the coeval Portait of Meo Carlucci in Fur, a
painting signed and dated 1792 now in Canova’s
House in Possagno 25 (fig. 11).
The hoax’s victims included another artist
of some repute, Gavin Hamilton, whose name
Missirini had failed to mention for reasons
known only to himself, but we may assign greater
importance to the role of a leading scholar and
connoisseur, and a sophisticated interpreter of
Canova’s work, named Giovanni Gherardo de
Rossi 26 who, in his enthusiasm over the painting,
proposed it as a model to the young students at
the Accademia di Portogallo in Rome of which he
was the director. That enthusiasm was to stand him
in good stead with Prince Rezzonico himself, who
later remembered him in his will.
The extent to which the first owner, and
Canova’s great supporter in masterminding the
hoax, was fond of the picture is shown by the
extremely fine frame still housing it, a frame which
he commissioned specifically for the portrait, as
D’Este informs us. An equally precious frame,
confirming the esteem in which the fortunate
recipients of these paintings held such works,
houses the Portrait of a Warrior, entitled Ezzelino
da Romano by Canova who made a gift of it to
Cardinal Consalvi.
This painting, signed and dated 1793, is
10. Giorgione da Castel Franco pittore, incisione in Carlo
Ridolfi, Le meraviglie dell’arte, Venezia 1648 | Giorgione
da Castel Franco pittore, engraving in Carlo Ridolfi, Le
meraviglie dell’arte, Venice 1648
da Missirini, in particolare quello della tavola
cinquecentesca riutilizzata dove era dipinta in
origine una Sacra Famiglia. Si tratta proprio di
quella che appare sottoponendo il nostro quadro ai
raggi infrarossi (fig. 9).
Ma si deduce anche che l’incisione da cui
Canova ha tratto ispirazione è quella con
l’immagine di Giorgione da Castel Franco pittore
(fig. 10) presente ne Le meraviglie dell’arte di Carlo
Ridolfi pubblicate a Venezia nel 1648, la fonte
da lui consultata. L’impostazione è molto simile,
come i tratti fisiognomici, anche se addolciti, e la
folta capigliatura. Non appare indossare la corazza
come nell’Autoritratto di Braunschweigh e nella
relativa incisione di Hollar, né in camicia, come
nella stampa pubblicata da Ridolfi, ma in pelliccia.
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