Portrait of a Young Man in Red

Raphael was twenty-two and newly arrived in Florence when he painted this half-length portrait of an unknown young man, and the picture became one of the most celebrated images of the High Renaissance — an early promise of the serene mastery to come. The portrait dates from about 1505, in the years when the painter was absorbing Leonardo’s example and refining the softly modelled, luminous manner that sets this work apart from his earlier Umbrian panels. The sitter’s plain black garment and the dark background throw the face into relief, while the vivid red of his cap and doublet give the picture its enduring sobriquet, the “Young Man in Red.” The painting is held in the J. Paul Getty Museum.