Lot 317: Pier Francesco di Jacopo Foschi Florence 1502 - 1567 , Portrait of a Man

oil on canvas, transferred from panel

measurements note 17 1/4 by 11 3/8 in.; 43.8 by 28.9 cm.

London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition , 1877, cat. no. 119 (as by Pontormo, A Portrait of Himself )

G. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, vol. IV, London 1857, p. 398, under no. 44, as "Pontormo.-- 2. His own portrait. Of spirited conception, and admirably executed in clear and harmonious colouring.";
F. M. Clapp, Jacopo Caruci da Pontormo: His Life and Work, New Haven/London, 1916, p. 249.

Lord Methuen, Corsham Court, Wiltshire, by 1877;
Sold, London, Christie's, February 12, 1965, lot 98 (as by Pontormo) to the present owner.

While this portrait was in the Methuen collection, it had been considered a selfportrait by Pontormo. This is not surprising, as Foschi had also been trained in the studio of Andrea del Sarto, and the two artists had worked together on large projects in the 1530s. The painting, however, is less mannered than Portormo's style, and in Foschi's more direct approach.