Andrea Renier and His Son Daniele

Artist:   Follower of Jacopo Tintoretto (Italian, 1518 or 1519 - 1594)

Original Dimensions:  44 1/2" x 37 1/8"

Location:  National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

About Artwork:  (1560/1566) "The first name of this portrait’s primary sitter, Andreas Renerius or Andrea Renier, and the entire reference to his son Daniel or Daniele is on a strip of canvas added to replace a portion of the painting on the left that had apparently been severely damaged. The specificity of the information suggests that it repeats an inscription that was there originally, or at least has some factual basis.

Andrea Renier held numerous positions in the Venetian government over the course of his career. In 1559, the year before his death, he was appointed to the important post of podesta (Venetian governor) of Brescia. The city seen through the window is Brescia, which confirms that Andrea Renier is indeed the subject of the painting.

The identity of the boy is more problematic, since in the inscription he seems to be referred to as Andrea Renier’s son (Latin: filius) Daniele. This boy appears to be roughly ten to twelve years old, whereas Daniele was well into his twenties when his father assumed office at Brescia. A possible clue may be found in the profile view of Andrea, which was unusual for a portrait’s primary subject. Profile portraits were often seen in the frontispieces of official documents of the time, and they also sometimes included images of a page or other anonymous youth. Such an image may have been used to create this portrait posthumously. The reference to Daniele could suggest the portrait was commissioned by him; however, that part of the inscription may also have first appeared at the time of the repair and repainting of the left side." - (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.)