Bolognese School, 16th Century

Portrait of a boy with a dog, possibly a member of the Albergati Family,
dated upper right: ANO/DOMINE/1566, with a coat-of-arms,
oil on canvas, 108 x 56.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Spanish Noble Collection, until 1972;
thence by descent, Private collection, Switzerland;
sale, Koller, Zurich, 18 September 2009, lot 3012 (as Circle of Prospero Fontana);
Swiss private collection;
where acquired by the present owner

The young sitter of the present painting may be a member of the Albergati family, one of the most important families in Rome and Bologna.

An attribution to Scipione Pulzone has been suggested. It is believed that he was a pupil of Jacopino del Conte. In his painting of the Assumption of the Virgin (1585; Rome), Pulzone displayed references to pre-Mannerist, Venetian, and Sienese traditions in his style of religious figuration. The artist painted many of the aristocracy and clerics of Rome. The Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (Galleria Nazionale, Rome) and Portrait of a Cavalier (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome) are characteristic of his work.