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Portrait of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere
Pedro Berruguete (Castilian, c. 1445/1450-1503)
c. 1476–82
- Medium
- oil on wood, transferred to canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Framed: 95.5 x 76 x 5 cm (37 5/8 x 29 15/16 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 70.2 x 51.4 cm (27 5/8 x 20 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- Spain
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Holden Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Spanish artist Pedro Berruguete spent a decade in Italy in the 1470s and 1480s, including a period in Rome during which he painted Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere from life. Here, the pope raises his hand in a gesture of benediction, blessing the viewer while meeting their gaze. Using white highlights to represent the glittering luminosity of the bejeweled garments, Berruguete accentuates Sixtus IV’s sumptuous attire, including the triregnum, or ceremonial triple crown and symbol of the papacy.
