Monsignor della Casa

The artwork

The man who would teach Europe good manners is, in all likelihood, the sitter: Giovanni della Casa, author of the Galateo. It comes printed on handmade Amalfi paper, in a handmade frame.

• An imposing figure, with a broad torso that almost reaches the edges of the painting.
• It lends authority to a study, a library or a professional office.
• A gift for anyone who loves books, Italian literature and good manners.

When he sat for Pontormo he was about thirty and was in Florence as apostolic tax commissioner, that is, the pope's man in charge of collecting taxes. He would write the book that made him immortal later: the Galateo came out in 1558, after his death, and ever since its title has become the Italian word for good manners itself.

The secret of the painting is its proportions. A small head above a huge, cone-shaped torso that seems too big for the panel: a Mannerist invention highlighted by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where the portrait is kept. Behind him, a few architectural details bring to mind Florence Cathedral. Old inventories recorded the painting as a work by Sebastiano del Piombo; today it is among the loans to the exhibition in Rome.

In a study, in a library, above a writer's desk: it is the gift for anyone who loves books and for anyone who knows how to behave in the world.

Unique quality material

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 40 x 60 cm (15.7 x 23.6 in)
Framed size: 42 x 62 cm (16.5 x 24.4 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges
Frame: dark brown with a gold fillet, handmade, with glass