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Sacred Art & Iconography

Portrait of Galileo Galilei (Justus Sustermans)

Painting

A half-bust portrait of Galileo Galilei by the Flemish court painter Justus Sustermans, dated to 1635, showing Galileo in his early seventies with light falling on his face as he looks upward and outside the frame. Commissioned by Elia Diodati, a friend and correspondent of Galileo's in Paris. The primary version is held at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence; a second version is held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Physical Form
MediumSourced to the subject's own account
Oil on canvas, consistent with Sustermans' portrait practice across his decades as principal court painter to the Medici grand dukes in Florence. 1
Classification
Object TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Painting 1
Medium (class)Sourced to the subject's own account
Oil painting 1
Connections

Associated With

Florence, Cities

This source names Florence directly: "The primary version is held at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence; a second version is held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich."

Source Galileo Galilei (Wikipedia, artwork source)

Belongs to Tradition

Derived: this work depicts a figure already recorded as belonging to this tradition; the work-to-tradition link is inferred from that live depicts edge and the figures own attested tradition affiliation, not independently sourced beyond it.

Depicts

The portrait's sole subject, Sustermans' best known image of Galileo.

Source Galileo Galilei (Wikipedia, artwork source)
Additional Source Justus Sustermans (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Authored By

Also in Arts and Music Atlas: the author of this subject.

Source Justus Sustermans (Wikipedia)Selected workstier 3
Quote, Selected works
Portrait of Galileo Galilei, (shown at right) oil on canvas (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
Sources
1. Galileo Galilei (Wikipedia, artwork source)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, identifying Galileo Galilei
    Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564-8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer and polymath.
  • catalogue record, medium/object-type description
    A half-bust portrait of Galileo Galilei by the Flemish court painter Justus Sustermans, dated to 1635, showing Galileo in his early seventies with light falling on his face as he looks upward and outside the frame.
  • In Group: Portraits of Scientists, article identifies the sitter as a central figure of the Scientific Revolution
View the Source
Justus Sustermans (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDepicts: Galileo Galilei
Quote, Depicts: Galileo Galilei
A half bust showing Galileo's face on which the light source falls and looking upwards outside the frame.
View the Source
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