The Court Jester Gonella
around 1440-45 | Jean Fouquet
The highly detailed, portrait-like depiction of the face (folds of skin, growth of beard and red eyes) requires the precise portraiture art of Jan van Eyck. Yet the painter of this portrait remained unknown until some years ago when Jean Fouquet was identified. The French painter portrayed Gonella, famous in his day as “court jester” in the service of Niccolò d‘Este, when he stopped off in Ferrara on his way to Rome.
The highly detailed, portrait-like depiction of the face (folds of skin, growth of beard and red eyes) requires the precise portraiture art of Jan van Eyck. Yet the painter of this portrait remained unknown until some years ago when Jean Fouquet was identified. The French painter portrayed Gonella, famous in his day as “court jester” in the service of Niccolò d‘Este, when he stopped off in Ferrara on his way to Rome.
Attributed to:
Jean Fouquet ? (um 1420 Tours - 1478/1481 Tours) DNB
Time:
around 1440-45
Object Name
Painting
Culture
French
Material/technology:
oak wood
Dimensions:
Overall: 36,1 cm × 23,8 cm × 0,8 cm
Framed: 42,2 cm × 30,2 cm × 4 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 1840
Provenance
1627 Coll. Vincenz Gonzaga, Mantua;