Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti

The painting shows a bust portrait of a man turned to the right, with his gaze directed towards the viewer. Against a dark brown background, the face of the Renaissance genius Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is depicted. Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer. The canvas portrays the characteristic features of the subject without idealisation: a high and wrinkled forehead with strongly emphasised brow arches, light hazel eyes, a wide straight nose with a bump, and deep creases from the nostrils to the corners of the mouth. The man has thinly outlined lips framed by a moustache, a split and sparse beard, and black, slightly curly hair. Several portraits of Michelangelo were created by various artists, including Sebastiano del Piombo, Giuliano Bugiardini, Jacopino del Conte, Marcello Venusti, Francisco de Holanda, Giulio Bonasone and others. Michelangelo left no documented self-portraits, but researchers consider some of his works potential depictions of the artist. Among them are "Saint Proclus", the head of Holofernes in the fresco "Judith and Holofernes" on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the defeated figure in "The Genius of Victory" group, and the face on the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew in the "Last Judgment" fresco.

At the bottom of the canvas is an inscription: "MICHAEL ANGELLO BONAROTI"

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery