Portrait of a Man with a Dog

Passerotti was a much sought-after portraitist in Bologna in the latter half of the sixteenth century, immediately preceding the naturalistic reforms of the Carracci brothers. He achieved high quality and originality in portraiture. In the Portrait of a Man with a Dog Passerotti presented a novel compositional idea: the young man clasps the spotty dog to his chest, while he turns to the viewer with a clear and intense gate, as if he had been suddenly addressed. The identity of the young man is not known, but he was certainly a member of a prominent family in Bologna.