2-995-702 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Beaucousin Collection at the National Gallery - "Ariosto" by Titian, 1860. Engraving of a painting later attributed to Palma Vecchio and titled Portrait of a Poet, c1516. 'The most recent accession to our National Gallery, at least of those which have been exposed to public scrutiny, is the collection of thirty-one pictures purchased last year from M. Edmond Beaucousin, at Paris, for some £5000 or £6000, we do not recollect the exact amount. The portrait of "Ariosto" by Titian represents the poet-friend of the great painter, in a front view, in a thoughtful mood. He wears a low crimson dress, showing his neck and shirt, with a gold chain on his neck, and fur hanging over his shoulders. He holds a rosary in his hand, which rests on a book. The background is filled with a trophy of laurels. This the editor of the catalogue states is "apparently the portrait described by Ridolfi as then in the possession of Niccolo Renieri." It was transferred to canvas by Paul Kiewert at Paris in 1857'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.