Portrait of Ship Captain, Original Francesco Bassano., Veneto, around 1517-1590. It is a copy made in the Prado Museum itself, in December 1982, by the undersigned, Paulino L. Tardón. Teacher, painter, Bachelor of Fine Arts Oil, linen, 65.54 cm frame. The frame is a few centimeters larger than the original. (because that's the rules of the museum). Behind you can see the seal of the museum Son of Jacopo, Francesco was the eldest son of the founder of this saga of artists, as well as the most gifted of the four brothers, all painters, who formed the Bassanesque Artworkshop. This one Artworked with an almost industrial coordination, following over and over again the paternal models that were so successful, first in Venice and later throughout Europe. Francesco was the only one among his brothers who managed to get somewhat out of the shadow of his father's compositions and, especially from 1570, carry out his own ideas, which in turn would be followed by the other members of the Artworkshop. He is also the only one who can be highlighted as a personalized creator in some of the Artworks he carried out with his father. The Bassanos are authors of very large canvases on the universal flood. This motif served as an excuse to represent numerous pairs of animals entering Noah's ark The portrait is supposed to represent Sebastián Veniero, Captain of the Galleys in Lepanto. It is a gift that Philip IV made to the Marquis of Leganés. It currently belongs to and is exhibited in the Prado Museum. Says Bernardino de Pantorba (1) “... portrair magnifique; peint avec la gallardise d´un pinceau de gene. C'est pour mon gout le meilleur des douze portraits de la main de Jacopo Robusti... le meilleur peintre de cette famille”. Translation:… magnificent portrait; painted with the skill of a painter of genius. It is for my taste the best of the twelve portraits by Jacopo Robusti… the best painter of this family (1) Bernardino de Pantorba is the pseudonym of D. José López Jiménez, a personality in the world of art.
