# Portrait of an Old Man

**Giulio Campi** (Italian, c. 1500–1572)  
mid-1500s  
oil on wood  
Framed: 120.7 x 91.4 x 11.4 cm (47 1/2 x 36 x 4 1/2 in.); Unframed: 92.4 x 63.5 cm (36 3/8 x 25 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.794. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.794).

## About this work

Part of a distinguished family of Northern northern Italian painters, Campi depicts his sitter with an unidealized face dominated by carefully observed wrinkles. He stares out intently while grasping what may be a letter with its paper seal broken in his right hand. Despite this intense gaze the figure does not establish a lively connection with the viewer, and his mood remains distant and reserved, in keeping with Renaissance ideas about elegant comportment. Though his costume appears plain, the sumptuous black fabric was indicative of high status in some parts of Europe. --Michele Frederick (December 2011)

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Giulio Campi painted this in the mid-1500s, aged about 25. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes.
- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Giulio Campi](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/giulio-campi)

Italian, c. 1500–1572

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was about 25
- Real size: about 36 × 25 in (92 × 64 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/479.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/479/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/portrait-of-an-old-man-cma-97156).