Doge Leonardo Loredan after Giovanni Bellini, Etching by Paul Le Rat, circa 1880

The aged Doge of Venice faces us at half length behind a stone parapet, set against a dark, finely hatched background. He wears the corno, the stiff ducal cap, over a white linen coif whose strings fall to his shoulders, and a mantle of heavy damask woven with large pomegranate and flower patterns, closed at the chest by a row of round gold buttons. The face is lean and calm, lit from the left, with a faint smile at the corners of the mouth. On the parapet a small paper label carries the painter's Latin signature, "IOANNES BELLINVS".

The print reproduces Giovanni Bellini's portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, painted soon after Loredan's election in 1501 and one of the best known Venetian portraits of the Renaissance, now in the National Gallery in London. The etcher's name, "P. Le Rat," is lettered in small capitals below the image. Paul Le Rat was one of the leading French reproductive etchers of the later nineteenth century, much employed by Paris art periodicals to translate old master paintings onto the copper plate.

This is an etching, and Le Rat has taken real care over textures: the brocade of the mantle is drawn line by line, the buttons are given round highlights, and the dark ground is laid in close, even hatching that makes the pale face stand out. The plate mark is visible around the image, with generous margins.

Hung in a study or library, perhaps in a black or gilt frame with a deep mat, the portrait has the presence of a small painting and holds its own on a wall of books.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.