Francesco Albani

Francesco Albani was born in Bologna in 1578. The son of a silk merchant, his talent was noticed by an uncle, who encouraged his father to send him to Denijs Calvaert’s studio. According to Bryan, his works are “more beautiful than grand……ingenius and abundant…..elegant and graceful”. He painted the gallery of the Verospi Palace, images that were reproduced in seventeen plates by Giovanni Girolamo Frezza, who engraved this portrait. The sitter is shown half-length in an inscribed oval frame. This is contained within a large decorative border flanked by the figures of an angel and a cherub, with a reclining female figure below, carrying the inscription “Imitatio”.