Sandro Botticelli: Portrait of a young man holding a roundel (1480)

(Private Collection)

A painting by the Italian artist Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (1445 – 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli. This piece shows a portrait of an attractive young man, seen at half-length and in three-quarter view, and sits in front of a stone window frame. The identity of the man is not known but as the Medici family were important patrons for Botticelli, the man is likely a member of this family or someone from their close circle. The man is holding a round medallion which depicts an unknown saint (probably a patron saint of the man). This roundel was included only later into the painting and is assumed to be an original of the Italian artist Bartolomeo Bulgarini (1300/10 – 1378). Painting from the 1480s.