Portrait of a Young Man
Artist: Pompeo Batoni (Italian, 1708–1787)
Original Dimensions: 97 1/8" x 69 1/4"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (ca. 1760–65) "Commissioning a portrait from Batoni was practically a rite of passage for Grand Tourists in Rome. This young man’s identity remains unknown, but he chose the most luxurious format: a full‑length portrayal with the props Batoni used repeatedly to announce a Grand Tour education, including a statue of Minerva (the Roman goddess of wisdom), an astronomical instrument known as an armillary sphere, and books: guides to ancient and modern Rome, painters’ biographies, and Homer’s Odyssey. On the table is a large relief sculpture of Antinous, lover of the emperor Hadrian, that attests to the ready integration of ancient homosexual culture into the mainstream celebrations of an-tiquity that characterized the Grand Tour." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

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