A Young Man

This painting of a young man is the oldest work in the collection. The artist portrays his sitter with detailed realism; one can pick apart a single strand of wavy, brown hair and almost feel the silky, smooth fabric of his red and blue costume. Painted on a sunny day, a few wispy clouds frame his head. The figure sits in front of a landscape, and buildings can be seen in the distance. 

The panel is a fragment, a work cut down from a larger painting. The work has had multiple attributions during its time in the Dulwich Picture Gallery collection. Attributed in 1813 to Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and later to his Milanese pupil Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (c. 1467-1516), the attribution to Piero di Cosimo (1462-1522) is now generally accepted by art historians.