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RAFFAELLO Sanzio: Portrait of a Cardinal

🖼 Portrait of a Cardinal, 1510-11
Oil on wood
79 × 61 cm
Madrid, Spain

Soft brushwork captures an austere cardinal in three-quarter view, his red robes and penetrating gaze commanding the composition against a neutral ground. Raffaello's psychological intensity and refined technique established the Renaissance portrait as a vehicle for revealing both social status and inner character.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
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