Portrait of a Young Man (Raphael, formerly Kraków)
Encyclopedia
Portrait of a Young Man is a painting in oil on panel
, probably from 1513–1514, by the Italian
High Renaissance
Old Master
painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino better known simply as Raphael
. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in Poland
. Since then, its whereabouts have been unknown. Many historians regard it as the most important painting missing since World War II.
The subject's identity is unverified, but many scholars have traditionally regarded it as Raphael's self-portrait
. The facial features are perceived by specialists as compatible with, if not clearly identical to, the only undoubted self-portrait by Raphael in his fresco
The School of Athens
at the Vatican, identified as such by Vasari. If it is a self-portrait, no hint is given of Raphael's profession; the portrait shows a richly-dressed and "confidently-poised" young man.
The painting was brought to Poland, along with Leonardo da Vinci
's Lady with an Ermine
and many Roman
antiquities
, by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
, son of Princess Izabela Czartoryska, on his travels to Italy in 1798.
of Kraków
along with the Rembrandt masterpiece, and Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine, and placed at a residence in Sieniawa. The collection was discovered with the help of Gestapo
by Hans Frank
, appointed by Hitler as the governor of the General Government
. The three paintings used to decorate his residence in the city before they were sent to Berlin
, and Dresden
, to become part of the Führer's own Collection at Linz, arranged by Hitler's plenipotentiary, Dr. Posse.
In 1945, Frank, a friend of Adolph Hitler, brought the paintings back from Germany to Kraków for his own use at the royal Wawel Castle
. This is where Portrait of a Young Man was last seen. When the Germans evacuated from Kraków in January 1945 ahead of the Soviet offensive, Frank took the paintings with him to Silesia
and then to his own villa in Neuhaus
. The Americans arrested Frank on May 4, 1945. The Polish representative at the Allies Commission for the Retrieval of Works of Art claimed the stolen paintings on behalf of the Czartoryski Museum. However, the Raphael and 843 other artifacts were missing from storage. In recent times, a book about Nazi plunder
by Lynn H. Nicholas
and a documentary film by the same title, The Rape of Europa
, suggested that if the painting were to reappear today, it would be worth in excess of $100M US.
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
, probably from 1513–1514, by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino better known simply as Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Since then, its whereabouts have been unknown. Many historians regard it as the most important painting missing since World War II.
The subject's identity is unverified, but many scholars have traditionally regarded it as Raphael's self-portrait
Self-portrait
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
. The facial features are perceived by specialists as compatible with, if not clearly identical to, the only undoubted self-portrait by Raphael in his fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
The School of Athens
The School of Athens
The School of Athens, or in Italian, is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511 as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms now known as the , in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican...
at the Vatican, identified as such by Vasari. If it is a self-portrait, no hint is given of Raphael's profession; the portrait shows a richly-dressed and "confidently-poised" young man.
The painting was brought to Poland, along with Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, from around 1489–1490. The subject of the portrait is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, and was probably painted at a time when she was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Leonardo was in the service of the Duke.The painting is...
and many Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
antiquities
Antiquities
Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...
, by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, statesman and author. He was the son of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and Izabela Fleming....
, son of Princess Izabela Czartoryska, on his travels to Italy in 1798.
The Nazi theft
At the onset of Nazi German invasion of Poland in 1939, the painting was rescued from the Czartoryski MuseumCzartoryski Museum
The Czartoryski Museum and Library is a museum located in Kraków, Poland, founded in Puławy in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The Puławy collections were partly destroyed after the November uprising of 1830–1831 and the subsequent confiscation of the Czartoryskis' property by the Russians...
of Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
along with the Rembrandt masterpiece, and Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine, and placed at a residence in Sieniawa. The collection was discovered with the help of Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
by Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
, appointed by Hitler as the governor of the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. The three paintings used to decorate his residence in the city before they were sent to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, to become part of the Führer's own Collection at Linz, arranged by Hitler's plenipotentiary, Dr. Posse.
In 1945, Frank, a friend of Adolph Hitler, brought the paintings back from Germany to Kraków for his own use at the royal Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle
The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...
. This is where Portrait of a Young Man was last seen. When the Germans evacuated from Kraków in January 1945 ahead of the Soviet offensive, Frank took the paintings with him to Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and then to his own villa in Neuhaus
Neuhaus
- Places :*in Germany:**in Bavaria:***Neuhaus an der Pegnitz, in the district Nürnberger Land***Neuhaus am Inn, in the district of Passau**in Lower Saxony:***Amt Neuhaus, in the district of Lüneburg***Neuhaus , in the district of Cuxhaven**in Thuringia:...
. The Americans arrested Frank on May 4, 1945. The Polish representative at the Allies Commission for the Retrieval of Works of Art claimed the stolen paintings on behalf of the Czartoryski Museum. However, the Raphael and 843 other artifacts were missing from storage. In recent times, a book about Nazi plunder
Nazi plunder
Nazi plunder refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, particularly by military...
by Lynn H. Nicholas
Lynn H. Nicholas
Lynn H. Nicholas is the author of The Rape of Europa, an account of Nazi plunder of looted art treasures from occupied countries.She was born in New London, CT, and educated in the United States, Great Britain, and Spain....
and a documentary film by the same title, The Rape of Europa
The Rape of Europa
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War is a book and a subsequent documentary film of somewhat related material. The book, by Lynn H. Nicholas, explores the Nazi plunder of looted art treasures from occupied countries, and the consequences...
, suggested that if the painting were to reappear today, it would be worth in excess of $100M US.
External links
- PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(Oregon Public BroadcastingOregon Public BroadcastingOregon Public Broadcasting is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of Oregon as well as southern Washington. With its headquarters and television studios in Portland, OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, and over...
): "The Rape of Europa.", 2006 film, aired November 24, 2008