Portrait of a Young Man & Juan de Pareja
If one wishes to get an impression of the artworks produced in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, there are two particular works which help achieve this goal. The two works of art to be analyzed herein are: 1) Portrait of a Young Man (Bronzino, c. 1550); and, 2) Juan de Pareja (Diego Velazquez, 1649-1650). Respectively, these two works give us a sense of the styles, themes, and moods of the Late Renaissance and the Baroque eras.
Portrait of a Young Man by Bronzino was created in approximately 1550, which makes this work a product of the Late Renaissance period. More specifically, the oil on wood portrait is representative of the Mannerism period in art in the Late Renaissance. In a broad sense, the Mannerists closely followed and adhered to a distinctive manner “One could say that whereas their predecessors sought nature and found their style, the Mannerists looked first for a style and found a manner” (Tansey 631). Unlike artists of the Early and High Renaissance, instead of looking to nature for their inspiration and styles, Mannerists looked to other works of art, like those produced by Michelangelo and found in Roman sculpture and art. The subject of the Mannerists was most often the human form. So it is in Portrait of a Young Man. The painting is 37 x 29 inches, and the portrait is of a young man who is more scholar and intellect than merchant or royalty. His demeanor, expression, and stance are typical of the well-bred, haughty patrician. His eyes and facial expression look out at the world in an affected manner, one of nonchalance and disdain. The overall impression for the beholder is one of austerity and formality. The long, graceful fingers of the young man are also representative of the patrician.
The color scheme is symbolic of the Spanish influence, as the young man’s cap and doublet are black against a
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