(1540s)

The paintings housed in this room are devoted to Venetian art of the 16th century, and the greatest artist of that era was Titian Vecellio. His name is associated with the posthumous portrait of cardinal Antoniotto Pallavicini, Rector of the Santa Prassede Church in Rome. It is attributed to Titian thanks to a note in the inventory of Flemish 17th century painter Anthony Van Dyke, who owned the painting. The Cardinal is depicted sitting calmly in an armchair. An open book is on his knees. He seems lost in thought, his pose is natural. The classical columns in the background and the idyllic landscape in the distance all lend this portrait a degree of formality in how it represents the central figure. Humanistic pathos permeates the idealised image, which is replete with a number of lofty values espoused by the Renaissance. In Pallavicini`s image, the artist highlights his noble education and spiritual depth as a person. Set against the natural world, the human form takes on particular significance and monumentalism, that sees it presented as the centre of the universe and the measure of all things.