Self-Portrait as a Young Man

Despite the fact that Gian Lorenzo Bernini's fame was mostly based on the gorgeous sculptures he made, he was also a great painter as well.

The same way he would come about with amazing detailed sculptures, he also had the ability to come up with high-quality paintings with amazing features and completely detailed finish. This portrait of a young man by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is a living proof of his creativity on the canvas. This portrait was developed in the year circa 1623 on a canvas of 38cm by 30cm. It is a contemporary of the sculpture of David, Apollo and Daphne. They were developed while Lorenzo was still a young man.

Just like most artists who existed during the high renaissance, Gian Lorenzo Bernini used the technique of oil on canvas but the style is much more different. This lovely portrait was done using the borough style. This is the same style that Gian used to develop his sculptures.

This is one of the rarest artworks created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He is seen trying to add a list of paintings to his collection of renowned sculptures. His attempt to capture the young man as he is was indeed successful. He creatively blends different shades on a canvas to effortlessly come up with one of the most amazing paintings of all times. He didn't pay too much attention to the background and was too keen to give it a dull colour so as to focus the audiences' concentration on the main subject of the painting.

The young man is full of expressions. Gian seems to have similar thoughts and painting techniques as those of Titian by making sure his characters have expressions to bring out the realism. He carefully comes up with the young mans’ hair which looks very real. Every stroke was perfectly done on the hair and every detail placed where it should be. He then puts his main focus on the young man’s face from which Gian Lorenzo brings out his unique painting style.

He paints the eyes which are well done to bring out the nervousness of the young man. The eyebrows are well shaped and creatively extended giving the painting a familiar face. By just looking at the face you can conclude that the young man has a thin body because Gian was able to capture every single detailed perfectly. He was also able to paint the mouth with complete precision to end up with the best portrait. He then goes ahead to make a couple of strokes which develops the man's part of the clothing. Through this picture, we see Lorenzo’s ability to come up with a very detailed portrait that is uniquely simple.

The painting of the young is currently being housed in Borghese Gallery in Rome Italy. It is not known who commissioned the painting neither are there any records of its origin. This is one of the most amazing paintings to be produced in circa 1623.