Bidspirit auction | EMILIAN, SCHOOL, FIRST HALF OF

EMILIAN, SCHOOL, FIRST HALF OF THE 16th CENTURY Portrait of Giovanni Garzoni, bolognese humanist Oil on canvas, cm. 105x95. Framed Upper left inscription in capital letters in brush: ”IO. DE GARZONIB.S / PHIL.AE AC MEDICINAE / DOCTOR COLL.S / ARCHISTORICVS / OBIIT ANNO / MDOV”. It is a rare portrait of the professor of medicine and moral philosophy of the University of Bologna Giovanni Garzoni (1419 - 1505), an eminent intellectual personality of the Bolognese Renaissance culture, who was the teacher, among others, of Girolamo Savonarola and private doctor of Giovanni Bentivoglio. He was also in friendly relations with some of the main sovereigns of the time including the Sforza families of Milan, Malatesta of Pesaro and the Dukes of Urbino. The portrait was certainly executed post mortem and it is likely that it was part of a gallery of illustrious men.